Tekketsu No Kyojin Remastered
by Stryker. AJ
Summary: After the battle of Edmonton, Lieutenant Ein Dalton, in his dying breath, set the Graze Ein to self destruct in an effort to destroy both Barbatos and Mikazuki. However, instead of dying, both were sent to a different place, in a different galaxy. Now, both the Gundam Frame and it's pilot fight a different war, alongside new friends and comrades
1. The day the Devil disappeared

**Edmonton**

Edmonton, the capital of Canada's Alberta province, sitting on the North Saskatchewan River. As of P.D 312, it was known as the second largest city in Alberta and Canada's fifth-largest municipality, tipping the citizen scale at 932,546. As of now, PD323, it crushed the scale with a total population of 1,321,426, more or less, making it the sixth-largest census metropolitan area in Canada.

With a population as large as that, it'd be hard to believe that the entire place would be abandoned up to the point where one could compare it to a scene in a horror movie, if it wasn't for the fact that the streets were quite literally deserted, with the notable exception of the hundreds of armed Gjallarhorn guards around the city, keeping guard of a ghost metropolis. Each were wearing the standard Gjallarhorn special operations armour and armed with standard issue assault rifles. Their orders were simple, to secure the city, of course, and deal with any unauthorized personnel in the area with _extreme_ prejudice. And for some extra security, multiple Gjallarhorn humvees were situated in the middle of the roads to block vehicles which did not have authorised access to the city.

Their reasoning for having such tight security was simple. An election was currently taking place in Edmonton's parliament, and they wished to keep it secure… or at least that was the official statement. The proper reason was that Gjallarhorn wished to keep a certain group of soldiers and their rather popular 'speaker' from entering.

With their extremely tight security, most could assume that those whom they were trying to keep out would never dare enter the city. However, one could also rather confidently assume that they never expected a pair of **TK-53** _Mobile Workers_ , both of which were escorting a jeep, to come roaring through the desolate streets of Edmonton.

One of the soldier groups in the city attempted to stop the two _Mobile Workers_ and their convoy when it headed towards their blockade, though they didn't account for the _Worker_ up front to simply respond byblasting his humvee, acting as a makeshift barricade, with a 30mm high powered round The impact of the shot sent the Gjallarhorn humvee flying back. If that wasn't bad enough the _Worker_ had crashed into it, knocking the destroyed vehicle out of the way and allowing it to continue its journey to the parliament.

While they roared through the streets of Edmonton, the people inside the jeep began riling up, specifically a blonde teen with long, blonde hair, dressed in a red shirt with a white line through her shoulders and some sort of navy blue ribbon in her neck. This was none other than _Kudelia Aina Bernstein,_ or the _Maiden of Revolution_ , as most identified her as. On the back seat was the ever awesome and wise looking _Togonosuke Makanai_ , sporting a bitchin fine black robe and wooden staff, looking as cool as ever with his white beard and eyebrows.

Up front at the driver's seat of the jeep was the ever adorable _Atra Mixta_. She was a petite little fourteen (more or less) year old with an adorable light blue sweater and pink hair done up like a neko.

As for the _Mobile Workers_ , the leading _Worker_ held _Tekkadan_ leader, _Orga Itsuka_ , a boy/teen with tan skin, lilac hair and an ugly scar running along his body, and _Takaki Uno_ , a blonde shota who was the one piloting the _Mobile Worker_ up back, a stolen Union _Worker_ of sorts. The pilot of the _Worker_ who guarded their flank was unnamed.

Inside the jeep, Kudelia turned to face Makanai, looking a little distressed. "How much further until we reach the Parliament?" she asked, sounding a little anxious, which was rather justified as she was supposed to convince the people there to vote for the man she was speaking with, that and she was rather justifiably worried that Gjallarhorn _Mobile Workers_ would come for them at any moment. She had little to no doubt in her mind that with their current numbers, they would have little to no chance to defend themselves.

"Take a right at the next traffic light…" replied Makanai calmly, glancing towards Atra. However, before he could finish his sentence, the lights of Edmonton began to act up, and after a few seconds, they blank out completely. The group was left wondering at first, not sure what was happening, though Takaki, Atra and the _Mobile Worker_ that brought up the rear were busy driving to pay it any mind.

"What is this…" asked Orga anxiously as his hair flowed with the wind, looking around at all the blanked advertisements of Edmonton, not noting the subtle sound of incoming thrusters. It wasn't until when Takaki spoke up that he realized what was going on.

"Boss! All our comm links besides LCS have been cut off!" informed Takaki, the panic apparent in his voice. "Our radar is out as well!"

Narrowing his eyes rather intensely, Orga stood confused for a moment, only to widen them beyond belief when he finally heard a somewhat familiar sound. Though by then, he knew what was going on. Turning back, he looked into the sky as a figure approached their current position, looking particularly menacing with its navy blue/grey colour scheme and armed with Twin Axes that were definitely made for Anti- _Mobile Suit_ combat.

"Are they serious…?!" exclaimed Orga, sounding somewhere between bewildered and horrified. "They're letting _Mobile Suits_ into the city?!"

Before the words ' _Mobile Suits_ ' even managed to leave his mouth, the unit in question came crashing down mere inches away behind their _Worker_ and a not too far from the jeep. The impact sent the _Worker_ up front fly forward a tad and caused the jeep to overturn. Oddly, the _Mobile Worker_ up at the rear was unaffected, though the amount of dust which was kicked up on impact was strong enough to blind it momentarily.

" _That's it… I remember now…_ " was the only comprehensible thing Orga could make out as he recovered from the shockwave created by the newly arrived _Mobile suit_. If he had to guess, the pilot of the unit was currently speaking via it's public comm links as it turned its head up to the sky. " _I… I'm sorry, Lieutenant Crank(nee)... I was supposed to obey your orders… and capture Kudelia Aina Bernstein…_ "

In front of the MS, in the driver's seat of the overturned jeep, Atra 'sat' there, slowly recovering from the impact. Once she recovered, however, she quickly noticed that someone was missing. "Miss Kudelia?" she muttered, wondering where she was.

Shockingly, Kudelia herself was already out of the jeep. Stepping towards the new _Mobile Suit_ , she faced it bravely, with an unfaltering stoic look on her young face. "I am Kudelia Aina Bernstein!" she spoke up to it, her voice harder than the alloy harder of _Mobile Suit_ Frames. "Is there something you want with _me_?"

The _Mobile Suit_ itself stayed eerily silent for a few seconds before lowering its head unit to face Kudelia. From where she stood, Bernstein thought that it looked like a _Graze_ unit's head, only somewhat more demonic. Rather abruptly, a unit on its head unit swiveled down, revealing a blood red mono-optic.

" _So, you were here all along…_ " muttered the apparent pilot of the MS, his voice literally dripping with poison, venom which was biting at the chance to melt Kudelia's throat. " _I went to collect you at CGS…_ "

While the MS kept speaking of events of the past, it failed to notice Orga getting out of his _Worker_ , grumbling about the rash decision Kudelia made. "That idiot…" grumbled Itsuka, climbing out of the MW. "Takaki, be ready."

"Hai!" was his immediate response from the boy in quesition.

" _If you had come with us… Lieutenant Crank(nee) would not have died…_ " continued the _Mobile Suit's_ pilot, it's voice sounding even more hateful as it spoke, and Kudelia herself noted how it's manipulators seemed to tighten around it's axes. "Besides…"

As it rambled on about a past experience on Crank(nee)'s nobility, it didn't notice little Atra racing out of the overturned jeep. And it also, somehow, failed to notice the _Union Mobile Worker_ aim it's cannon at it.

' _ **EB-AX2**_ _Graze Ein…'_ thought the pilot, mentally reading its serial number and 'codename' through the on screen data. Gritting his teeth, he aimed his _Worker's_ main cannon at it's cockpit. Even if it didn't pierce the Nanolaminated armour of the cockpit unit, the impact would hopefully provide a good enough distraction for Kudelia and his boss to escape. He knew that he would most certainly die after that, but he was willing to make the sacrifice. _'Gotta create an opening which she can use to escape!'_

However, before he could lock onto the cockpit, movement on the _Graze Ein's_ shoulderpad caught his eye. Instinctively swiveling the turret to face it, the pilot widened his eyes when he saw a chaingun fold down from its shoulderpad. It quickly revved itself up before blasting his _Worker_. Six shots was all it took to reduce the _Worker_ into nothing but scrap metal which exploded within a few seconds. The unexpected scene made Kudelia turn back in shock, but the _Graze_ didn't stop it's yapping.

" _That's right…"_ said the pilot of the _Mobile Suit_. _"Lieutenant Crank(nee) died because of you…"_

"Because of _my_ actions, many lives have been lost!" retorted Kudelia, effectively cutting off the _Graze_ in spite of the difference in volume. Taking the slight shock which the _Graze's_ pilot appeared to currently be experiencing as an opportunity to get their friend out of harm's way, both Atra and Orga dashed towards the blonde. "But that is why I cannot stop now!"

After allowing it to sink in for a second, the _Graze_ raised it's right arm unit, in turn raising one of its axes as it averted its blood red mono-optic towards her. "That ego…" it muttered. "I shall teach you!"

Shifting its axe so that it's cutting edge was pointing down, the _Mobile Suit_ promptly got ready to crush her beneath the blade. As it was halfway down to its intended target, however, Atra managed to close the gap between herself and Kudelia and tackled her friend back.

"Miss Kudelia!" she proclaimed as she sent Kudelia onto her back. Yet, while they flew back, a rather loud noise was heard. It sounded… familiar to both of them. Neither girl had enough time to turn their heads toward the source, however, but they did have time to widen their eyes ever so slightly when a familiar looking figure came blasting past them, dragging a massive 'weapon' with both of its manipulators. And right before the axe of the _Graze Ein_ even got halfway towards from reaching her, the newcomer used it's weapon to block the axe, the subsequent impact creating a shockwave which sent everyone tumbling backwards.

Very slowly, the dust settled, revealing Atra holding onto Kudelia, who did likewise, and with Orga somehow below Kudelia. Once the trio recovered, and after the dust had settled, the three of them were able to see what had come to their rescue, though Orga himself already knew what it was.

As a smirk formed on Orga's face, the dust began settling down just enough to allow Atra and Kudelia to see the now familiar and rather reassuring back of the ever familiar Ace _Tekkadan Mobile Suit_ , the **ASW-g-08/F6** , or more widely known as _Gundam Barbatos Form Six_. It looked just as the three of them remembered it, with its white Nanolaminated armour, grey inner frame and Wrench Mace held tightly in its grip, blocking the twin axes of the _Graze Ein_ from striking them. The only noticeable difference was that the left V-fin of the unit was broken off.

"Of course…" began Orga, speaking through grit teeth as he stared up at his pal's _Mobile Suit_. "You would never let us die in a place like this, eh, _Mika_?"

And as soon as those words via his local comm links, the pilot of the _Gundam_ , _Mikazuki Augus_ , looked up from the monitor of his _Gundam Frame_ to face his new opponent.

"Let's go," was all he said as he gripped his unit's arm controllers tighter. " _Barbatos_."

As he said that, the data in the _Barbatos' Alaya Vijnana_ acknowledged his command, giving him a little more data to work with, causing the _Mobile Suit's_ optics to flash green. However, even though the Mika kept the _Barbatos_ ' leg units locked firmly to try and keep the _Graze_ from advancing, the knee units were slowly but surely giving way to the pressure that was placed on the _Gundam_.

"Mikazuki…" muttered Kudelia thankfully, though she was still shocked, a feeling which was drowned out by the feeling of thankfulness she had towards the _Gundam's_ pilot. If the kid had never existed, she'd be dead multiple times over. However, the _Graze Ein's_ pilotseemed to feel opposite feelings towards the _Gundam_ , as it's single cycloptic optic almost immediately let out a darker, more menacing shade of red as it put more strength into both axes, attempting to push the _Gundam_ back, but it's opponent held its ground.

" _You!"_ exclaimed the _Graze_ in a pissed off tone. _"The sinful child that killed Lieutenant Crank(nee)!"_

In the cockpit of the _Barbatos_ , Mika himself simply felt confused as he raised an eyebrow. He vaguely remembered the name, _very_ vaguely, though not enough to remember Crank Zent, the _Barbatos'_ second kill ever since the end of the Calamity War. "Who's that?" he promptly asked, genuinely confused. And it seemed to enrage the _Graze_ , who raised it's left arm unit in an attempt to strike the _Barbatos_.

" _How dare you?!"_ exclaimed the _Graze_ , ready to strike, though the arm was intercepted by the _Barbatos_ when it was raised, stopping it dead in its tracks, though at the cost of the _Gundam_ sliding back about two metres.

"Stay still," grumbled Mika, sounding mildly irritated as Orga got Kudelia and Atra back towards the jeep. As the girls kept their eyes on the _Gundam_ , Orga helped Makanai, who was still stuck in a truly unfortunate manner, out of the upturned jeep.

"Get me out…" requested Makanai, in which Orga replied that he was doing so.

"Boss…" came a voice behind Orga, making him turn to see that Takaki got their still functional _Mobile Worker_ to their location.

"Takaki?" questioned Orga, but he simply shook his head, not willing to ask how Takaki got the _Worker_ behind him without him hearing it as he moved onto the more pressing matter. "Nevermind, we have to hurry. So long as we're still here, Mika can't fight properly."

"Hai!" replied Takaki as Orga finally freed Makanai from his slight dilemma. As he did, Atra tugged on Kudelia's dress in order to get her to look away from the _Gundam_. As much as she was reluctant to do so, she had to leave Augus. This was something she couldn't help him with… and she knew it well. She just needed to get Kudelia to realize that as well.

"Miss Kudelia… we need to go!"

Both _Mobile Suits_ were stuck in a clash with their respective weapons, though the _Graze Ein_ itself was slowly but surely overpowering and pushing the _Barbatos_ back. Despite that, the smaller _Gundam Frame_ stood its ground valiantly, both it and its pilot unwilling to let up.

" _Unbelievable… your sins…"_ groaned the _Ein's_ pilot as it pushed the Gundam back. _"... they do not stop… they keep growing…"_

Mika didn't really pay much attention to that, mainly because he was wondering how he'd get out of this situation without harming Orga or the others. Though his answer came in just a few seconds when his comm-links came to life, with Orga's voice coming through it.

" _Sorry for the wait, Mika!"_ he yelled, making Mika turn back to glance at the now moving _Mobile Worker_ and spot Orga, Kudelia and Atra atop it. The girls were sitting on the top of the _Worker_ while Orga hung onto a railing on its back. _"We're on our way to the Parliament! I'll leave the rest to you!"_

With his new 'orders' given to him, Mika couldn't resist a smile. After all, Orga's orders were everything to him.

"Yeah, I got it," replied the boy as he swiveled _Barbatos'_ Land Boostersback and blasted them at full power, or at least enough to send the _Ein_ stumbling back just enough to create an opening and land a kick on it's waist unit. However, to Mika's slight shock, the _Graze_ kept itself upright, though not enough to stop him from swinging the Wrench Maceat it. The real surprise, however, came when it had blocked the Mace with both its axes, with it's torso still bent back. "Darn it…" muttered Mika, thinking he slipped up.

" _Lieutenant Crank(nee)... at this rate, your tears will not stop…"_ said the _Graze_ mournfully, but that tone slowly changed into one of pure hatred as it got itself back upright, though Mika only blank in confusion at what the Hell he was talking about. _"With this fight… I…"_ continued the Graze as it forced the Wrench Mace onto the ground, cracking the concrete. _"I will make him repent!"_

"Mikazuki…" muttered Kudelia, still stunned that Mika got there in time to save them, though Makanai's manly voice pulled her back to reality.

"We're running out of time!" he exclaimed Makanai, something which Orga didn't really like as they turned on a tight curve with their _Mobile Worker_ ,which thankfully didn't overturn and/or fling Atra, Kudelia and himself off it.

"I know!" retorted Orga grumpily. "But thanks to Mika, security is lax here. They're all concentrated on him and that _Mobile Suit_ he's facing off against… so don't worry… I'll get you there… and then I'll put an end to all of this…

* * *

" _...right, Mika?"_

Hearing Orga's voice through the comm link of his _Gundam_ seemed to renew Mika's energy, though if it was in a good or bad way was up for debate as he shifted back on his seat and widened his eyes to show small, dilated pupils.

Blasting right towards its opponent, _Barbatos_ swung it's Wrench Macetowards it in an upwards motion. Surprisingly, the _Graze_ dodged the strike and retaliated with an axe to the chest unit, only stopped by the _Barbatos'_ blue arm guard. The arm guard gained a large cut as a result, but it effectively stopped the axe in the air, even if the _Gundam_ did stagger a little from the impact. Using the opening he had given himself, Mika launched the _Barbatos'_ leg unit towards the _Ein_ , kicking it harshly and making it stumble back.

The boy followed it up by swinging the Wrench Mace At the _Ein_ , but he didn't account for it to recover so quickly and catch the Mace's head with it's manipulator. The unexpected defensive movement caught Mika a little off guard, though not as much as when the _Ein_ launched it's fist at the _Barbatos'_ waist unit. When it pulled its fist unit back, it began spinning at its wrist, increasing in speed until it became a 'drill' fist of sorts. And when it struck, the drill fist nearly busted a waist pipe.

Thanks to the punch, the _Barbatos_ was sent back a tad, though Mika managed to keep his _Gundam's_ footing on the ground. However, once he recovered from the slight launch, the AV system of the _Barbatos_ flared up, making Mika swiftly turn the _Gundam_ to its side, just in time to block an axe swing from the _Graze_ with its left _Graze Ritter_ shoulderpad. The shoulderpad managed to stop the strike at the cost of being sliced in half.

Acting quickly, the _Graze_ sent an axe downwards to try and down _Barbatos_ , followed by another and another, all of which were avoided rather easily, though it had the side effect of kicking up a ton of dust which shielded both Mechanical Titans from view. To both _Mobile Suits_ , the dust was very little issue thanks to the optical sensors, though to a nearby group of Gjallarhorn soldiers, it was quite a sight to behold.

* * *

"...commander?" began a bazooka holding soldier after a while as the _Barbatos_ swung it's Mace at the _Graze_ , narrowly missing it's cockpit by less than an inch, dispelling some of the dust around it and allowing them to have a quick glimpse at the battling units, though within a second the two were once again blanketed by smoke when the _Graze Ein_ swung its axes down at _Barbatos_ , missing the unit and slamming them into the ground, ejecting dust into the air. "What are our orders?"

"I… I don't know," replied the unit commander, who had his helmet's visor flipped up so that he could view the battle with his own two eyes to confirm that he wasn't hallucinating. "All I can confirm is that one of the _Mobile Suits_ in there is ours… but it's hard to believe… it's colouration and physical attributes makes it… makes it look like the _devil_ …"

Relentlessly, the _Graze Ein_ landed yet another strike which narrowly missed _Barbatos'_ head unit, close enough to make Mika grimace but not enough for him to lose focus. Quickly, he sidestepped to the right, causing another downswing to miss his unit's left arm and for the _Ein's_ axe to be lodged into the ground. Acting as fast as his instincts and muscles allowed, he got _Barbatos_ to swing the Wrench Mace at the outstretched arm unit of the _Graze_ , though the **EB** unit retaliated by letting go of it's axe, in turn evading the strike, and kicking the _Barbatos_ at the waist, making it fall on it's side and lose its grip on the Wrench, rattling Mika up within its cockpit a little in the process.

" _This is the perfect form of the_ Alaya-Vijnana _…"_ growled the _Graze's_ pilot as he pulled his unit's axe out of the ground and pointing its tip towards the fallen _Gundam_. _"It is not like your crude unit… the one that I possess is the one that holds the power to unify humans and_ Mobile Suits _…"_

"The Perfect _Alaya-Vijnana_?" echoed Mika, clearly not understanding what the _Ein's_ pilot was talking about. To him, everyone's AV System, regardless of how many spines they had, were about the same. What really mattered in his eyes was the person's skill, not their tech, a mentality shared by a majority of _Tekkadan_ , so hearing someone call his AV System 'perfect' was a new experience.

" _You… you and your pathetic_ Alaya-Vijnana _byproduct… are nothing… nothing…"_ continued the _Graze_ as it raised its axe. And, in a swift motion, the _Graze_ brought down its axe onto its opponent, though by then the _Barbatos_ had dodged out of the way with a fancy backflip and landed close to its Wrench Mace. Crouching down ever so slightly, the unit quickly picked the Mace up and held it with both manipulators, though it was not quick enough to avoid the axe which the _Graze_ tossed at it. The weapon struck its right shoulderpad, breaking off the larger part on its side. "But a mere defective one!"

The sudden strike made the _Barbatos_ lose its footing for a split second, though Mika quickly recovered. Using the slight confusion to his advantage, the pilot of the _Ein_ performed a side swing, which the _Barbatos_ ducked under and retaliate with a strike with its Wrench Mace. Because of how big it's weapon was, the _Ein_ couldn't duck under it. Instead, it leapt straight over the Wrench Mace and attempted to land on the _Gundam_. Swiftly, the _Sixth Form_ leapt out of the way, causing the unit to simply crash down onto the ground and kick up a ton of dust. Using the possible confusion and smokescreen to his advantage, Mika got _Barbatos_ to perform a 'roundhouse swing' with the Wrench Mace. Unfortunately for Mika, the _Graze_ reacted quickly, deflecting the strike with an axe and causing the _Gundam_ to stumble back, the shockwave of the two weapons clashing against one another dissipating the cloud of smoke around them.

Gritting his teeth in uncharacteristic annoyance, Mika placed a foot of _Barbatos_ back to steady itself. Once it was steadied, Mika grumbled silently to himself as he tightened his grip on the _Gundam_ arm controllers, in turn causing the _Gundam_ itself to tighten its grip on the Wrench Mace. Though it was subtle, Mika was feeling some sort of emotion. It was called fear, if he wasn't wrong, something he has yet to feel for quite some time, and he wasn't familiar enough with it to acknowledge it.

Besides, he didn't exactly have much time to think about he kept his mind on getting through this battle.

* * *

 **Somewhere near the Parliament**

"Boss, I got a call from Miss Atra!" informed Takaki as he crouched in front of a computer within a small building situated not too far from the Parliament of Edmonton. "They made it to the assembly!"

"I see," replied Orga, tying his _Tekkadan_ jacket around his waist as he spoke As he did, Takaki looked up at him hopefully.

"That means that our job's over, right?" asked Takaki, hoping that his boss would say yes.

"Yes… it will be… soon," assured Orga, looking downcast. "I'll end it…"

"Boss?"

"Takaki," said Orga, cutting Takaki off as he moved to kneel in front of his blonde comrade to look him in the eye. "I need you to do me a favor…"

"A favor?" asked Takaki, sounding worried. "What kinda favor?"

"Get some LCS units in the sky," was his simple answer from his boss, who stood up and stared out the window, frowning ever so slightly as he did. Takaki nodded in response as he moved to retrieve the LCS drones he had with him, though he did turn to Orga one last time before he got on with what he was ordered to do.

"What about you, boss?" inquired Takaki.

"I can't leave Mika by himself," replied the big boss. And Takaki let that quote sink in for a second.

"Hold on… you're going to the battlefield?!" he exclaimed. But Orga simply smiled.

"It's my job as the boss, Takaki," said Orga reassuringly. "It's my responsibility to see this

through…"

And with that said, Orga rushed out to get into the _Mobile Worker_ parked outside before Takaki could protest.

* * *

 **Back on the battlefield**

Accompanied by a loud crash, a messy explosion of dust, and a pair of soldiers shielding their eyes, the _Barbatos_ was sent crashing into the side of a building, creating a massive hole in the structure on impact. The one who knocked the one in was none other than the _Graze Ein_ , who stood before its badly damaged opponent, glaring down at it with its single monoeye.

The _Barbatos_ was, by now, covered in multiple dents and axe shaped cuts on its chassis. Its paint had chipped off rather immensely, and it most likely had several internally damaged components within it as well. The areas with the most visible amount of damage were, not including the V-Fin, the chest unit's extra armour plating, which had a massive gash on it's left and a massive dent which busted through its center, and the shoulder pads, though that came as no surprise as those were the most useful defensive gear the _Barbatos_ currently had.

On the polar opposite, the _Graze Ein_ was almost spotless. The dark navy blue/grey had little to no damage on them, with a few minor ones on the waist and arm units from failed or ineffective strikes. The largest damaged area was on the left shoulderpad, which was caused by an Autocannon blast. Aside from that, one could simply assume that it was factory fresh.

"Sinful child…" grumbled the _Graze_ , and it's tone sounded more distasteful than when it had roared at Kudelia. "Lieutenant Crank(nee) never intended to fight you…"

While the _Graze's_ pilot continued it's babbling, something his opponent found generally annoying in combat as he kept talking about some sort of crank, Mika used this slight 'downtime' to check on the systems of his MS. Unfortunately for him and _Barbatos_ , most of his results came up in the red.

"Only a little gas left in the thrusters…" he muttered as the AV system fed him most of the data on the _Barbatos_. "And even with the remaining Autocannon rounds… I can't kill him…"

And slowly, the boy stared up at his opponent, who kept on speaking in spite of its current tactical advantage.

' _A difference in the_ Alaya Vijnana _system…'_ thought Mika as he narrowed his eyes at the _Graze_. Within a few seconds, however, he lowered his head and frowned. No… that couldn't be it. The _Alaya Vijnana_ was no replacement for skill. It was a crutch for those who were desperate, nothing more, prompting the pilot to assume that the _Graze_ was simply a better pilot than him.

"Why do you not understand?" cut in the _Graze_ pilot, snapping Mika out of his thoughts as it concluded it finished it's speech that he didn't even listen to. However, deciding to reply in order to get his mind back into the battle, Mika looked back up and blank at the _Ein_.

"That old man was wanting to die himself," he said, which didn't really help the situation.

"I knew it…" it said, as it's optic blazed up intensely, releasing what could be called 'illusionary flames', orange in colour and looking as though they could start a forest fire. "You are defective!"

As he said that, the MS raised an axe, not noting the Barbatos' back thruster powering up. And as soon as it was raised, the booster blasted to life, kicking up a ton of dust and creating a smokescreen. Despite the cloud of dust, however, the _Graze_ saw the Wrench Mace flying at it, and caught the weapon before it struck the MS.

"You rat…" he cursed before driving it's last remaining pile bunker into the Wrench Mace's upper half, completely destroying it and slightly crumpling the bottom. Though what it didn't predict was the _Barbatos_ coming at it from behind to strike.

Mika attempted a simple action, grab the _Graze's_ cockpit and crushing it, or at least try and shoot it with the Autocannon. Unfortunately, the _Graze_ was too fast for his liking, as it whirled around, using the same arm it used to break the Wrench to catch the manipulator _Gundam's_ manipulator.

"You animals know nothing about the righteous path for humans!" exclaimed the _Graze_. And despite the firm footing it had on the ground, Mika soon felt the feet units of his _Gundam_ be lifted up from the ground. Widening his eyes in shock, Mika could only give a grunt as the _Graze Ein_ quite literally threw _Barbatos_ off to the side with just one arm

While the MS was still in the air, Mika quickly recovered and activated the Land Boosters, positioning them in a way that readjusted _Barbatos'_ position. Thankfully, he managed to do so before his unit landed face first onto the ground, instead landing on its own two feet unit. To soften the _Barbatos'_ landing, Mika stepped down on a unit beside the feet thrusters, and the grey segments on the soles of the _Gundam's_ feet swung down, revealing 'claws' of sorts. And once he landed, the claws dug deep into the concrete of the ground, softening the _Barbatos'_ landing by a considerable amount.

Thanks to the softer landing, _Barbatos_ recovered quickly, but not quick enough to avoid a drill kick to the waist unit, shearing off part of its waist unit and making it staggering back, followed up by a double axe downswing. Thankfully for the **ASW** unit, the momentum which the _Graze_ gave it thanks to the drill kick, combined with Mika leaping _Barbatos_ backwards, the strike missed, even if it did kick up a ton of dust, once more blanketing both units in a cloud of smoke.

As it leapt back, the right side of the _Gundam's_ backpack detached and swung up over the unit's shoulder via a 'backpack arm', allowing Mikazuki to get _Barbatos_ to reach back and grab the Longsword with very little issue. Gripping it with both manipulators, Mika had his unit yank the blade off the backpack unit just in time to block a strike from the _Ein_. Not letting up, the _Ein_ slammed it's second axe onto the Longsword, which still held together despite the amount of force against its side.

"But you laid a hand on your savior and pulled him down into his grave…" continued the _Graze_. And at this point, Mika gave up listening. Why bother listening to someone who was speaking complete nonsense, anyways? Besides, he had other things to worry about, like the leg joints of _Barbatos_ slowly giving way, making the _Gundam_ fall to its knees. Oddly enough, however, the boy didn't seem to be too botheredby it, seeing as he was most concerned about one single thing.

"Basic speed… no… the _reaction_ speed…" muttered Mika, his mind in shambles and feeling horribly sore from the prolonged battle. Despite that, his voice was calm, which was probably a show of how little he valued his life at that point. "A difference in the _Alaya-Vijnana_?"

"You cannot be saved now!" continued the _Ein_ as it's/his opponent's sunk into the ground, slowly but surely moving into a kneeling position. Mika himself paid it no mind, however, as he kept his thoughts centres on the prospect of the _Alaya Vijnana_ system. They were all the same… right? How could this person's unit be different… and more importantly… how could he defeat him if it were truly superior to his…?

"With your bodies disgrace by sins… you can no longer be saved… not you… or that woman!"

Mikazuki blank. That woman… Kudelia? And he remembered… he was here to escort her to the Parliament! All that fighting against the _Graze Ein_ had dulled his mind to the point where he had forgotten about his objective, and he had almost lost his reason for battling the opposing unit… at least until now.

"And your comrades… never!" continued the _Graze_ , enraged as it pushed the _Sixth Form_ fully onto its knees. "I will _kill_ you _and_ your comrades… to _**purify**_ your sins…"

If he were to say anything else, Mika would have not replied. However, this was a special occasion, as Augus didn't even hear whatever else the _Graze_ said. He was just focused on one thing.

" _I will kill you_ _ **and**_ _your_ _ **comrades**_ _… to_ _ **purify**_ _your sins!"_

 _That_ was what made him snap. No one threatened his friends and got away unscathed. If they were to die today, all of them, then that would mean that all their work, all those rigorous hours traveling from Mars to Earth… and all those lives lost for this mission, would be for nothing. Yes… that was why he was here…

He was here to open a path for Orga, for _Tekkadan's_ future! And he wasn't about to allow some righteous _Graze_ pilot stop him!

Slowly, Mika raised his head up to face the _Ein_. And when he spoke, the boy's voice held a rather noticeable amount of anger.

"Sins…?" muttered Mika, his pupils dilating immensely in response to his anger. "...Save? That… is not for _you_ to decide… hey… _Barbatos_ ," turning his attention to his _Gundam_ , he felt a difference in the AV System. An oddly familiar feeling which reflected his anger. And it made his order to his MS that much easier. "Just give me all that you have… don't bother holding back…"

In response to his request, the _Gundam's_ optics began to light up, flashing even brighter than it ever shone in three hundred years, shining much brighter than ever before.

"Just give me all that you have… _Barbatos_!" exclaimed Mika, and right at that moment, he felt an immense jolt of pain go up his spine. Leaning back as it shot through his back, Augus felt his left arm tighten up immensely and for something wet to slide down his left cheek. He felt it… all that data that was coming in from his unit…

And he felt his _Gundam's_ optics flare up, exploding in a flash of green, before it was launched up into the air.

The _Graze_ had noted the fact that its opponent's optics were noticeably glowing and had took it as a threat. With a swift motion, it had forced the _Barbatos'_ arm units upwards before launching a kick to it's armoured chest unit.

"Die and repent!" exclaimed the _Ein_ , boosting behind it while it was still in the air and swung it's right axe wielding arm unit. A clean cut to the waist, most likely enough to slice the unit in half. It expected this to be the end of the fight.

Yet, it didn't expect the _Gundam_ to recover so quickly in the air, much less so for it to deflect the strike with a defensive swing with it's Longsword.

The surprise was apparent in the _Ein's_ voice as the deflected axe dropped behind the _Barbatos_ , landing on its edge with a loud _clang_.

"What?!" it/he exclaimed as the _Barbatos_ kept its stance. "That… that reaction speed!"

While it was true that Mika had just done that, deflect an axe strike of a wielder of the supposedly 'perfect' _Alaya Vijnana_ , that newfound reaction speed came at a price. Currently, Mika's right arm spazzed out as though he was on an electrical chair, though that had only lasted for less than a second before stopping completely, allowing Augus to grip the arm unit controller properly. However, the most visible 'wound' was his right eye and nostril.

His entire right eye was now red and bloody, though he was able to see out of it just fine, and his right nostril was leaking blood like a busted drain pipe thanks to the info dump the _Barbatos_ gave him. However, he didn't seem to notice these 'injuries' of his, and if he did, he didn't care. And, shockingly enough, in spite of the larger amount of information he was getting from _Barbatos_ , the pilot still felt that this was not enough.

"Not enough… _not enough_ …" he muttered, ignoring the sensation in his back as he breathed in heavily. "More… **more**! Give me all you've got… _Barbatos_!"

Heeding his pilot's command, _Barbatos_ poured on the power, signified by the powerful green flash it emitted.

* * *

 **With Takaki**

"Boss?"

Atop the building near the parliament, Takaki contacted Orga with through the newly established LCS comm links. As he did, Takaki set down the final LCS drone so that his leader could contact the other _Tekkadan_ members with maximum output.

"Can you hear me?" asked the blonde. "I've put up all the LCS drones we have. You can now contact everyone on our team now!"

* * *

 **Over with Orga**

"Good job, Takaki," thanked Orga as he drove down the desolate streets in his MW. As he did, he tapped the LCS comm link button to contact every member of _Tekkadan_ who was still up. To his relief, the _Gusion Rebake_ was still operational on the outskirts of Edmonton, but the _Ryusei Go_ and twin _Rouei's_ signals were faint. Still, he held onto hope that their pilots were still alive as he spoke.

"Can you all hear me?!"

* * *

 **The outskirts of Edmonton**

Along the outskirts of Edmonton, a single Mobile Suit stood silently among a literal graveyard of _Graze_ units.

For the past hour or so, it had been holding its ground against waves upon waves of **ED-06j** , _Graze Ground Types_ , all sent by Gjallarhorn for the sole purpose of defeating. And it did it's job pretty well, considering how it was still standing tall, injured but still operational as it overlooked the carnage, with a single sub arm gripping the sword of a _Graze_ and its Halberd held tightly in its regular manipulator.

Within its cockpit, _Akihiro Atland_ took in several deep breaths to calm himself while blood streamed down both his nostrils, his body still recovering from the strain of combat. In spite of all the stress that came during the battle and its aftershock, however, he still managed a smile when Orga's voice came through the LSC.

" _Makanai and Kudelia have reached the Parliament!"_

* * *

 **A little closer to Edmonton**

" _Our job was a success."_

Standing from side to side, the heavy artillery _Mobile Worker_ units rained Hell down on the Gjallarhorn opposition. In the battle, they lost a few of their numbers, but Gjallarhorn's side were dropping much more noticeable than theirs.

Inside his _Mobile Worker_ , _Eugene Seven Stark_ grit his teeth as a shot just narrowly whizzed past his unit, not even paying attention to what Orga was saying.

" _So… do_ _ **not**_ _die here!"_

* * *

 **The outer rim of Edmonton**

" _Don't die now!"_

Laying on the ground in front of his destroyed _Ryusei_ , _Norba Shino_ smirked as Orga issued his commands through his _Graze Frame's_ LCS.

Alongside him were _Lafter Frankland_ , _Azee Gurumin_ , _Eco Turbine_ , three members from Teiwaz who accompanied _Tekkadan_ to Earth, and _Yamagi Gilmerton_ , a mechanic of _Tekkadan_.

All three of them were very recently taken out of commision by the _Graze Ein_ thanks to its more advanced A-V system. Thankfully, none of them could be labeled as KIA as of now, as the worse they received were several scars, ones which they would wear with pride.

" _Whoever dies from here on out… I'll make sure to kill you again for disobeying me!"_

* * *

 **Edmonton**

" _So! No matter what…"_

Boosting straight at _Barbatos_ with all the speed it could gain via its boosters, the _Graze_ attempted a downswing at the smaller MS with one of its two axes. It didn't account for it to dodge with speed rivaling his own, however.

"What is this?!" exclaimed the _Graze_ as the _Barbatos_ issued a possibly fatal strike to its arm, one which could have severed it. Thankfully for the _Graze_ , it was able to pull its arm back to avoid the strike, though the Longsword did manage to slice the axe that arm was holding in two.

"His reaction speed has tripled…" muttered the _Graze's_ pilot in shock as the _Barbatos_ came at it with a flurry of swings with its Longsword, most of which had missed while those that connected left decently sized slash marks on the unit's chassis. "How is this possible… his _Alaya Vijnana_ system shouldn't be able to give out that much data!"

While the _Graze_ attempted to figure out how to pin it down, the _Barbatos'_ pilot pushed on tirelessly, focusing all his might on killing the _Graze_. If he failed now, they would all die. They would have gone all this way for nothing… and those who were sacrificed would be let down. He would not allow this.

" _Live! Even if you have to crawl… or if you have to die trying!"_

Grimacing, Mika dodged strike aimed at his _Gundam's_ waist unit and retaliated by swinging _Barbatos'_ Longsword at the _Graze_ , slicing off the _unit's_ left antenna. The pilot of his opponent winced ever so slightly at that, though it recovered quickly and swung its axe once more at _Barbatos_ , who simply duckedunder the strike.

In retaliation, Mikazuki swung the Longsword at it's cockpit, a strike that it narrowly dodged, though a cut did appear on the edge of the unit. In response, the _Graze_ sent it's axe down on it, a strike which kicked up a ton of dust, though it didn't have enough time to recover and dodge a swing which knocked off a part of it's arm unit's frame.

And outside of all that chaos, the two Mobile Suits and their pilots didn't notice the Mobile Worker which stopped outside the dust.

"How is this possible…" muttered the Graze's pilot as he launched his MS' fist, spun up into a drill punch, at the Barbatos, a strike that it blocked with what remained of its left _Graze Ritter_ shoulderpad, though it was sent staggering back a little. "His movements…!"

Activating the Land Boosters and blasting his _Gundam_ forward as soon as he recovered from the drill punch, Mika charged straight at the _Ein_. Seeing his opponent coming, the _Graze_ swung its axe to stop the _Gundam_ , only for the unit to meet it's weapon with it's Longsword. For a moment, both units remained locked in a clash until the _Ein_ attempted to launch a kick at the _Barbatos_ , though it leapt back before it connected.

Landing on both feet units, the _Barbatos_ raised an arm to block another drill punch with its arm gauntlet, causing a massive indent to be formed on its gauntlet. The _Graze_ wasted no time in swinging its axe at _Barbatos_ , thinking its pilot to be distracted by its drill punch, though before the weapon could even get close to it's target, the _Barbatos_ swung its blocking arm to the side, sending the drill fist flying past its head unit and allowing it to launch a punch on the Graze's head unit, shattering it's monoeye and heavily denting it's head unit. The strike sent the _Ein_ sprawling backwards and jerk it's head to the side.

Whirling back to face the _Tekkadan_ MS, the _Graze's_ optic seemed to glow a darker shade of red, prompting Mika to swing the Longsword at it again, and though the _Graze_ narrowly dodged it, earning a smaller cut on it's waist frame.

Not using it's axe this time, the _Graze_ boosted forward and sent a drill punch at the Barbatos' head unit, shearing off it's left cheek armour and making Mika flinch in the cockpit. And that action sent it out of the dust cloud, allowing Orga to see what was happening, and to flinch at how damaged the _Barbatos_ was. He has seen the unit damaged before in the past, but never to this degree.

"Not a chance!" exclaimed the _Graze_ pilot, and before Mika could recover, it sent a drilling kick at his _Gundam's_ waist frame, sending _Barbatos_ staggering back as its Additional Chest Armour Plating broke off.

Stepping forward, the Graze slammed its clawed foot unit down onto the Additional Armour Plating and gave the _Barbatos_ a death glare, or at least as close to one which a _Mobile Suit_ could get.

"This is the end…" said the _Graze_ , and honestly, _Mika_ couldn't be bothered to listen.

He was tired, dehydrated, and he wanted to just close his eyes and drift into an embrace of dreams. So, as the _Graze_ opened it's damaged helmet and glared at the _Barbatos_ with it's single red monoeye before raising it's axe, Mika didn't dodge.

Why bother fighting this thing? He had no goal, at least nothing he could remember… fighting this thing had made his brain feel mushy. He just wanted to rest… perhaps if he simply closed his eyes for a moment, this would all be over…

 _"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, MIKA?!"_

That voice… it belonged to… Orga… Orga!

Blasting his eyes open, revealing dilated pupils, Mika remembered his mission.

To ensure _Tekkadan_ was successful.

And he was going to be there when it happened. So dying was not on his list, not now. Not ever.

With his mind cleared, Mika pushed down on a button on the _Barbatos'_ arm controller, ejecting the _Ritter_ shoulder pads and the backpack unit to reduce the weight on the _Gundam_.

And, once the axe had landed, all the _Graze_ had struck was the armour _Barbatos_ purged.

"What…?!" proclaimed the _Graze_ , shocked by the sudden speed the _Gundam_ had just demonstrated. Swiveling it's cracked monoeye from side to side, the _Ein_ was unable to pin down the location of its opponent, not until it heard the sound of it's adversary's Land Boosters burst to life. Turning back, it saw the _Gundam Frame_ leap into the air, Longsword raised above its head as _Barbatos_ lunged at it.

The _Graze's_ first instinct was to swing its axe at the _Gundam_ , but it found itself to be too slow to do so, as, when the arm unit was nearly at the _Gundam's_ chest, _Barbatos'_ Longswordcompletely severed the unit with one swift slice.

"He… he severed the _Mobile Suit's_ inner and outer frame all together?!" proclaimed the pilot of the _Graze_ in shock as his MS' severed arm unit landed not too far behind the _Ein_ , going limp as soon as it struck the ground.

While it was still in shock, Mikazuki found himself feeling rather wistful inside the cockpit, partly because he remembered what he was supposed to do, but mainly because he learnt how to use this weapon correctly.

"I finally understand how to use this…" he muttered, smiling ever so slightly as he huffed. "It was so easy… and it took me this long to get it."

"You… you monster!" exclaimed the _Graze_ , launching its still intact arm towards the unit for a drill punch. Dodging to the side, the _Barbatos_ avoided the strike before severing that arm unit with it's sword.

"Look who's talking," grumbled Mika in a rather harsh tone as he narrowed his eyes at the _Graze_ , who backed away from its opponent. As a last resort, the _Graze_ raised its left leg unit for a drill kick, though it's opponent's MS dodged the kick before stabbing it's weapon into the leg unit, making the _Graze_ limp back.

"Lieutenant Crank(nee)!" it exclaimed, it's voice filled with shame as it turned to the _Barbatos_ , it's remaining leg unit straining under the weight of the torso unit and it's single red optic blazing red. "Specialist Major Bauduin! My righteousness…"

Having enough of his babbling, Mikazuki pulled back the _Barbatos'_ arm unit controllers before shooting them forward, jamming the Longsword into the cockpit of the _Graze_. It was a clean cut, one which went right in and destroyed the pilot's life support system.

And as it went limp, Mika simply glared at it, breathing heavily as he glared at the form of the _Ein_ , slowly slouching down as it went limp.

"Shut up…" he grumbled. "Orga's giving me orders…"

As he said that, Orga looked up to the sky, smiling happily.

A smile which faded when his LCS comm links went on.

"Orga!" came Takaki's voice. And he seemed alarmed.

"What is it, Takaki?" asked Orga, his happiness fading thanks to Takaki's tone.

"There's a large amount of Ahab energy build up near you…" said Takaki urgently. "It's… it's coming from the _Mobile Suit_ Mr Mikazuki is fighting!"

Widening his eyes, Orga whirled back to face the _Barbatos_ and activated his comm links which connected to the _Gundam_.

"Mikazuki!" exclaimed Orga. "Fall back, now!"

Hearing this, Mika simply felt confused, before the on screen alert came up, alerting him to an Ahab energy build up coming from within the _Graze_. And if he remembered what Old Man Yuki said… it meant…

' _Self destruct!'_ thought Mika as he flipped the Land boosters back and activating them, blasting the Gundam back while yanking the Longsword out. Yet, something seemed to be malfunctioning in the _Barbatos_. Mika would have wondered if it was because he pushed it too far, but he didn't have much time, as the _Barbatos_ seemed to just shut down.

Alongside that small problem, the _Barbatos_ was being _pulled_ towards the _Graze_. Not just the _Barbatos_ , though. The Wrench Mace, _Graze's_ arms/axes, the armour parts which the _Gundam_ ejected, and even Orga, who was reversing his MW were all being pulled towards the soon to explode _Graze Ein_.

Yet, when the _Barbatos_ and Mika came into contact with the Graze, the 'vortex' stopped, causing Orga's MW to be sent back slightly. Grumbling, he climbed out of his _Mobile Worker_ , before widening his eyes.

"Orga!" came Takaki's voice again. "The Ahab build up is gone. But I'm not picking up the _Barbatos'_ Ahab Wave! What's wrong?!"

But Orga didn't answer. The sight in front of him was too much.

Mika… Mika and the _Barbatos_ … both gone. Nothing was even left, not even any of the weapons.

And for one of the few times in his life, Orga allowed himself to shed some tears before letting out an anguished yell.

A yell which rang through the Edmonton sunset and represented the loss of a friend, and something which would haunt Orga for many years from now.

Yet… the _Tekkadan_ leader was wrong to assume that Augus was dead.

In fact, he was alive and well, now living a life that was certainly very different from what any of them were used to…

* * *

 **Of all the monsters I've encountered in my 17 years of life, I am probably the worst of them all.**

 **As you have read, this story is a Remastered version of the original Tekketsu No Kyojin that I really wanna delete but can't bring myself to do so. I doubt it'll be any better, but one can hope.**

 **If you've read the original story, which you probably shouldn't because spoilers and because it's genuinely terrible, you'll know how the first few chapters go. But if you're new to this, then you're in for a ride.**

 **The way the original idea fo the original version of this story came about when I was really bored, honestly. Then it went downhill real fast as soon as I really got into writing. So, frankly speaking, Tekketsu No Kyojin is the thing that kicked off my entire fanfiction career. I both hate and love it for that.**

 **But I'm babbling now. I'll see you guys in the next few chapters.**

 **Edited on: 4/8/2019**


	2. Shattering the skies

Have you ever wondered what was in space?

People have wondered what was up in the endless void of space, wondering if aliens were up there, or if there were other planets similar to _Earth_ , a variation of the blue orb of the Solar System which housed humans as well, living in conditions which were different from ours.

While our expectations for space may or may not have been rather bombastic and creative, the actual product would be much more different than anything we'd think up, and much more depressing than what one would expect.

Dark, empty and infinitely vast, the massive celestial ocean which we call space is extremely, extremely underwhelming. However, there was the occasional spike in activity. Various comets blasting through the night skies, or the supernova when a star met its untimely end. There were also occasions when several humanoid machines known as _Mobile Suits_ would take flight and do battle in the skys. However, such instances are rather rare and few and far between.

But it didn't seem to be the case for a certain universe which seemed to mirror the Solar System which a Post Disaster _Earth_ resided in, as, in the usually undisturbed void of space, a small tear in the darkness slowly began to form. Usually, small tears like these would last for a few seconds, perhaps even less, before disappearing, but this one got larger and larger before, nearly reaching the size of _Earth's_ moon, before finally disappearing, but not before spitting out a few humanoid objects and several other damaged parts, and one or two broken street lights, post boxes, and concrete slabs.

However, those objects looked rather insignificant when compared to the other two, larger objects in the bunch. Both were classified as _Mobile Suits_ , humanoid Mobile Weapons used primarily by the military (though there are exceptions), each standing over 15 metres in height, with human-like proportions as they were built to be compatible with users of _Alaya-Vijnana_ , an organic system implanted into children (or young adults if one were desperate for troops). The thing was made to enhance the link between a _Mobile Suit_ and their pilots.

 _Alaya Vijnana_ was built nearly three hundred years ago by Gjallarhorn as a device to link a _Mobile Suit_ pilot and his designated MS to a deeper tone. On the _Mobile Suit_ side, the AV system would be in the cockpit area, specifically right on the cockpit chair. But for the pilot side, it was not so simple, as the AV system was implanted right into a child's spine, which explained the AV placement in the MS. On paper, it sounded like a good idea. But in reality… it wasn't that great. The AV system implantation process was like russian roulette. The patient had a one to six chance to get through the process, while the other five to six was the chance of him/her either dying or, worse, getting paralyzed for life. But it was a risk to take if a pilot wished to use their _Mobile Suit_ at its full potential.

After the Calamity War which prompted the creation of the AV System, however, Gjallarhorn grew distasteful towards AV. Mainly because it was rather inhumane to plug an organic system into a young adult or kid, if one were to think about it. Though it was still used in the outer spheres of the Solar Systems, where Gjallarhorn's iron grip was pretty much non-existent.

But aside from the AV System, their size and the fact that they were _Mobile Suits_ was all that made them similar (well to be fair, both MS were technically made by Gjallarhorn as one was built 300 years ago while the other was an experimental AV-MS unit), as they each had vastly different aesthetic looks and internal mechanisms.

The taller of the two had the unit number **EB-AX2** , codenamed the _Graze Ein_. It somewhat resembled a robotic demon, and the colours, proportions and design backed that statement up. It stood at a hefty 22.2 metres tall, and the lengthy limbs of the MS gave it a rather creepy vibe if viewed at night or from afar. Its colour scheme was primarily black with a purplish-grey hue, and traces of dark grey inner frame could be seen in certain areas. The thing was once a Mobile Suit made for Gjallarhorn to experiment with the _Alaya Vijnana_ system until P.D 323 where it was deployed to take down the newly formed group known as _Tekkadan_ alongside the **ASW-G-66T** , _Kimaris Trooper_.

The unit was named after its pilot, _Ein Dalton_ , the dude who was unwilling to die, even in canon. Dalton was closed to death after a battle against _Tekkadan_ in the Earth sphere after their ace MS tossed the Gungnir lance of the _Kimaris_ through his **EB-05/EC** _Schwalbe Graze Ein Custom_. (Un)Fortunately, his commanding officer, _Gaelio Bauduin_ , didn't want the dude to die and implanted him in the _Graze Ein_. Long story short, the _Ein_ and _Trooper_ went to try and take down _Tekkadan_ , failed, and both died in combat.

Though before he died, Ein tipped a self destruct device in his MS. SD devices were things which Gjallarhorn placed into their most important and valuable MS, those which they couldn't risk to lose to an enemy. _Gundam Frames_ , _Schwalbe Grazes_ , _Graze Ritters_ and experimental MS (which the _Graze Ein_ technically was) all had self destruct devices, among a few others. Though instead of doing what it was meant to do, the self destruct device tipped something inside it's opposition's _Mobile Suit_ , thus sending both his MS and his enemy's to an uncharted part of space.

The other MS was much different in the looks department. It resembled a Knight with a demon-like aesthetic. It was codenamed the **ASW-G-08/F6** , or as most knew it as, the _Gundam Barbatos Form 6_. Its colour scheme was less monotone than the **EB-AX2** , primarily coloured with pure white and medium grey. Other minor colours included dark blue, gold leaf and bright red. The most notable feature was its crest which, resembled the devil's horns, was snapped off towards the left, showing the inner frame unit of the V-fin.

The v-fin was not the only damaged unit on the _Barbatos_. Unlike the _Ein_ , the _Barbatos_ was covered in dents and scratches. The _Nanolaminated_ paint was chipped off, exposing the bare silvery-grey metal under the white/blue/red/gold paint. In addition, the _Barbatos_ was missing a couple of parts, such at its shoulder pads and backpack. And that was not including the sizable amount of internally combusted pipes and the thousands of pulverised screws.

Despite that, the rather significant amount of damage was not enough to break the _Gundam_ into a state of immobility. After all, it has been through worse. _Gundam Frames_ didn't survive for 300 years just out of pure luck, after all. They were built to take a ton of damage and survive to return the favor.

 _Gundam Frames_ had two Ahab Reactors, a _Mobile Suit_ _Frame's_ most basic power source, running parallel to each other, meaning it could give out tons of data and power. Because of this, _Gundam Frames_ were made almost 100% for _Alaya Vijnana_ users as not many regular people could easily control something with so much power. And even so, one would need some serious dexterity to withstand all that data coming at them if they were an AV user.

Finally, _Gundam Frames_ were built very similar to each other, with the same basically skeletal frame to each other. The only real differences in the Frames were the head units, crotch units, a part of the chest, shins and feet. Everything else internally was almost the same. So don't forget, no matter how different the _Kimaris_ and _Barbatos_ look, internally they're almost the same. _Almost_.

About two months, or something like that, ago, the eighth _Gundam Frame_ was nothing more than a power supply for the Mars company known as _CGS_ , with it's cockpit removed at that time. It was activated after a chap called Kudelia hired CGS to bring her to Earth. Long story short, Gjallarhorn didn't was that shit to happen and sent three **EB-06** _Graze_ to try and kill the girl.

In desperation, the CGS members which didn't flee their HQ resorted to sending their ace _Mobile Worker_ , a rectangle on three swiveling wheels and with two massive guns which were made more for defending a point than fighting on the frontlines of combat (though other variants on the worker included some missile launchers/pods and significantly larger calibre guns which allowed for a more offensive use of the worker), pilot to get into the cockpit of the _Gundam_ as a last ditch effort to defend themselves.

To fix the problem with the missing cockpit, they placed a _Mobile Worker_ cockpit into the _Gundam_. It worked pretty well. The data difference between a _Mobile Suit_ and _Worker_ was immense. A Worker's AV System would give out a modest amount of data when an attack was launched at it, but a Suit would give a large amount to alert the pilot ASAP. While such a data influx would cripple anyone who was unused to that amount of data, it's current pilot got used to it.

(Very) long story short, the _Barbatos_ and it's pilot successfully brought Kudelia to Earth, but paid a price after it killed the _Graze Ein_ on its presumed final battle,who's pilot self destructed the MS and seemingly destroyed them both. But instead of blowing up alongside it's opposition, the frame was sent here.

All around the two _Mobile Suits_ were damaged pieces, not including the random pieces of debris, which were floating around, most of them from the Barbatos, such as its damaged _Graze Ritter_ shoulder pads, a backpack unit which was almost completely sliced in half, a Longsword which was used to deliver the killing blow to the _Graze Ein_ , and a Special/Wrench Mace. The weapon's top front segment, the 'snout' as most called it, was busted. Despite the housing being destroyed, however, the Chainsaw within the 'snout' was still functional. And the mace itself was still a suitable whacking tool.

The Wrench Mace was a multipurpose mining, demolition, deforestation and combat tool built by _Teiwaz_ and sold to both mercenary groups and working companies alike. It was built more for practical uses instead of combat, however, as the part containing the chainsaw was not necessarily the most durable thing, able to easily be destroyed by a pile bunker strike. But even so, it was built with with a lightweight yet durable material which made swinging it less of a chore, and it was still able to deal devastating blows thanks to the three 'spike' segments on the bottom 'jaw' of the Mace which could very easily puncture _Nanolaminated Armour_. That, and the Wrench Mace was strong enough to withstand multiple hits to even it's thinnest points.

The Longsword was, in short, a backup weapon, crafted with the same alloy as the outer frames of _Mobile Suits_. The blade was easy to handle thanks to the lightweight and was more suited to localized attacks. It also had an additional white handle thing to help minimize kinetic energy lose when swinging. Unfortunately, thanks to the high strength of Nanolaminated Armour, it was mostly ineffective against _Mobile Suits_ , and users would usually require to aim for gaps between armour plate, though a certain few were able to use it masterfully, cutting through the outer and inner frames at the same time. As for others, this was nothing more than a simple backup weapon. This weapon is also considered a prototype variant for a Longsword which was made of the same alloy that was used to build _Mobile Suit_ Frames to many as they were similar in size and shape.

For multiple long, silent minutes, both _Mobile Suits_ floated about aimlessly through the endless voice of space, occasionally bumping into a piece of debris. However, somewhere at the fifty minute mark, the _Barbatos'_ optics began to lighten up, signaling that it was activating… that something… no… some _one_ was still in it's cockpit, plugged into the _Alaya Vijnana_ cord of the _Gundam_ and was regaining consciousness. And, as expected, within the cockpit of the **ASW-G-08** , a certain boy sat within on the cockpit chair of the _Barbatos_ , slowly regaining his consciousness. The child stood somewhere at the height of 5'75", a little undersized for a 14 year old. Aside from his size, the boy had pure black hair alongside a light blue pair of eyes. And in spite of his size, he was _extremely_ muscular, with a full six pac and heavily muscled arms. He was able to lift a fully grown man off the floor with little to no problems.

On his 'pilot shirt', below his right nostril and right eye were dried up lines of blood which stained both his pilot uniform and right cheek, partially dried up. It was thanks to the AV System on him, a system which he pushed beyond its preconceived limits to take on and ultimately destroy the _Graze Ein_. It was a risky move, as he would have lost the nerves for a body part or two. Thankfully (and also for the sake of this story), he didn't lose anything vital, only losing a small amount of visibility in his right eye, which was now red with blood thanks to the AV overload.

The boy was known as _Mikazuki Augus_ , the current pilot of the _Gundam Barbatos_ and the ace pilot of the military organisation, _Tekkadan_.

Mikazuki Augus was, in a word, a survivor. Trained in basic combat ever since he was at the young age of seven, the boy had picked up a ton of survival skills and combat training at a youthful age. And even before that, when he was a mere six and a half, the boy had underwent not one, not _two_ , but _three Alaya Vijnana_ surgeries and had survived them all. The results were three AV 'spines' poking out of his back, but it didn't matter much to him. He also had some skill in shooting with a pistol.

Slowly, the child woke up, grunting a couple of times as he did. Raising a hand to his forehead, he rubbed his temples and shook his head a little, trying to get rid of a mild headache, a side effect of pushing the _Alaya Vijnana_ past it's conceived limits. It took him awhile, but he managed to ebb the pain in his head, though not by much. Still, it was enough to allow him to open his eyes which seemed tired. For a short while, he groaned and shook his head, regaining his 'marbles', before he widen them a tad when he saw where he and _Barbatos_ were at.

"...space?" he muttered groggily, looking from side to side with the peripheral vision of the _Barbatos'_ optics. And, indeed, he _was_ in space. Dark, empty, but with countless stars everywhere. It didn't take him too long to feel entranced by what he was looking at, losing his thoughts to the endless void of space and the uncountable amount of stars. Even so, a small part of his mind was nagging at him to do something. An old memory… what was it? He remembered something… _Tekkadan…_ Edmonton… Kudelia…

That thought, however, didn't strike any cords with him. Instead, it added to his confusion as he wondered how he got up to… well… space. That… and what part of space was he in? Currently, he didn't know if he was in the Solar System or not, which meant that he was just as likely to be floating in an entirely different galaxy if his luck were that bad.

However, despite his current dilemma, Augus managed to keep his calm, which was impressive as anyone else would be losing it if they were lost in a random part of space, slowly going crazy as they died from the lack of oxygen or the lack of food and water supplies. But Mika didn't intend to die so simply. Instead, he noticed something. It was bright and shone off the left armour plates of _Barbatos_. Gazing to the side, Mika noticed a large, round orb of light. It looked familiar…

"The sun," he muttered, before he flinched at how bright it was. But he soon realized something. If this place had a sun…

Before the thought even finished forming in his head, Mika grabbed both arm controllers and turned the _Barbatos_ from side to side to try and confirm his 'theory'. Looking to the left, he saw _Venus_ and _Mercury_ , two planets Gjallarhorn didn't bother to colonise like _Mars_ thanks to the intense heat on both planets, and to the right was the God of the Solar System itself, _Jupiter_ , and behind it was _Saturn_ , _Uranus_ and _Pluto_. Secretly, he wondered if _Pluto_ was a planet. Personally, he believed that it was.

When he thought of _Mars_ , Mika shifted _Barbatos'_ gaze to the right and spotted the place he was supposedly born in. And behind _Mars_ was the **massive** giant which humans called _Jupiter_ , which dwarfed every other planet in this place, only beaten by the sun. Then again, the sun was a star, not a planet.

After a short while of looking at _Mars_ , he turned the _Barbatos'_ head unit upwards, and his eyes widened when he saw his namesake (when it's written/spoken in Japanese anyway). Grey, sort of round and just as imposing as he had imagined it to be, the Moon hovered silently over the _Gundam Frame_ as the boy within it looked at it in amazement.

Looking at it through his _Mobile Suit's_ optics, Mika saw that it wasn't exactly what he expected. For one, it wasn't cresent, more of an irregular circle with multiple craters on it. But either way, Mika found it… beautiful. It's irregular structure was chaotic in a beautiful way, and besides, nothing was perfect, and the moon was, in a way, a representative of that. It wasn't perfect, but many people, even Augus himself, considered it a marvel of nature.

But something clicked in him after he pulled his attention away from the moon. He remembered back in his first battle above _Earth_ against the _Kimaris_ and _Schwalbe Graze_ , that the moon always hovered above the blue orb, and since the Moon was here… then that must mean…

With a slight grunt, Mika tilted the _Barbatos_ downwards, and he blank when he saw the blue-green planet below him.

It was larger than Mika remembered it from the battle atop _Earth's_ atmosphere, but in his defence, he was in combat back than and couldn't possibly turn away from the battle he was in. And, just as he was with the moon, Mika found himself entranced by the round green-blue called the _Earth_ , so much so that he didn't notice details like the _Earth Sphere Defense_ group, or whatever they called them, missing.

The _Sphere Defence_ group was usually situated somewhere Southeast of _Earth_ , and Mika was, ironically, over by that side. One would think that the EDG would gladly open fire on who they considered a major enemy (Mika did kill Carta, after all), but it didn't occur to him that they would. He didn't even remember them.

After a few minutes of staring, something struck Mika, mentally anyways.

" _Orga!"_ he shouted mentally, remembering what he was meant to do. It all came back to him in a flash. He was supposed to escort Kudelia to the Parliament… from what he remembered, it was successful. But for all he knows, Gjallarhorn would just launch a missile at the Parliament and deck the place. Gjallarhorn were sore losers, after all. And if his little hunch was correct, and if Gjallarhorn was as sore loser-ey as Shino said during a meal back on the _Isaribi_ , he needed to get back down there!

But even Mika knew that he would not be able to fight a _Graze Ground Type_ with just _Barbatos'_ fists, no matter how skilled a pilot was. It would be suicide, unless they're Akihiro. Quickly, he gazes around, turning the _Barbatos_ left and right, looking for a weapon or two to use.

The most obvious weapon was the Longsword. Unlike the Wrench Mace, it was in one piece and still capable of piercing armour parts. Sure, he was still technically a novice at using the blade, but he know had some experience and knew that the best parts to aim at with the sword were at either the joints or in placed where the armour was the thinnest. Deciding to take it, Mika hovered the _Gundam_ over to where the Sword was floating at and plucked it out of the air.

But still, he felt that just the Sword wasn't enough, and as that thought came over his head, Mika felt something impact softly against _Barbatos'_ back. Turning the MS, Augus saw just what he was looking for. The Wrench Mace. And, while it was broken to the point where the chainsaw was close to being practically unusable, Mika was more comfortable with a heavy weapon which could pulverise an enemy MS in a single swing. He doesn't know why, but he likes it.

Raising the right arm unit up, Mika snatched the Wrench out of the air and examined it. Of course, the thing was busted, but he found that the chainsaw was still working, though it didn't rev up as quickly as before it ware busted. And even if it wasn't, it still served as a good whacking tool, which was good enough for Mika.

Hastily, Augus instinctively got _Barbatos_ to sheath the weapons on it's back out of habit, but an on screen image said that there was nothing to hold them with. And it was then when he remembered that he ejected the backpack and shoulder pads when fighting the _Ein_. Looking from side to side, it took him awhile to find the backpack and shoulder pads.

Hovering towards the units, Mika found the backpack to be suitable for use thanks to an on screen info, though the thruster unit was a little busted and wouldn't be able to function at one hundred percent. The shoulder pads were still usable, but they were so busted that Mika didn't even give them a second thought, considering them dead weight if he brought them with him. So, he simply placed that backpack on the _Gundam's_ … well… back. It took him awhile, but some data from _Barbatos'_ side of the AV System gave him the info needed to attach it quicker. And once it was there, Mika sheathed both weapons on the _Barbatos'_ backpack.

Now that the weapons part was sorted out, Mika needed a plan to get down to _Earth_. Only a fool would try to enter a planet's atmosphere unprotected as the heat build up would break apart or melt their _Mobile Suit_ before they even got halfway into the atmosphere. And to add on, the heat build up would melt the joints and probably evaporate all the fuel in the thrusters, meaning their MS would not be able to maneuver around to use their thrusters to slow their descent towards the ground and exploding, resulting in messy death.

And then they'd go to Heaven/Hell to be reprimanded by his or her deceased superiors.

But he then remembered how he first entered _earth's_ atmosphere. In combat with a _Graze Ritter_ … he shoved the Longsword into the cockpit and used it as a shield to absorb the heat of re-entry.

Thinking of that, Mika turned to the side and spotted something which would be large and strong usable as a re-entry 'shield'. Looking at it, he confirmed that it was large and in good enough condition as a 're-entry' thing.

"Ah, that'll work," he said as a reflection of the _Graze Ein_ shone off _Barbatos'_ green optics.

* * *

 **Down there on Earth, within Wall Rose**

In the silent night, a young black haired girl looked out of her home's open window, her window, looking up at the sky, stargazing. She wasn't the necessarily the kind to be curious about the outside, but human curiosity was a strong feeling, something which you'd even the most mundane human being would succumb to.

' _Those Walls…'_ thought the girl as she swiveled her head to stare at these 'Walls' which surrounded her hometown of _Trost_. When she was young(er), the girl never really cared about these Walls, willfully ignoring them as she found them to be boring when compared to many other things. But thanks to a friend, the same friend who also piped up her interest in the outside might, she began to wonder a little on what was beyond the Walls. Thanks to him, she began to wonder what was beyond all the Walls. Her pal spoke of endless blades of tallgrass, miles of shiny salty water, and plains of large trees.

The girl was about one and a half metres tall. A little undersized for a twelve year old, but she was pretty decently sized when compared to most other twelve year old children in _Trost_. Her long, thick black hair was parted when they reached her neck and tied into twin, adorable pigtails. Twin light grey eyeballs occupied her head's eye sockets, and she had light, fair. Her outfit was a long sleeved teal blouse, black pants and some sorta grey shirt, an outfit hand sewn by her mother herself.

Her name was _Mina Carolina_ , a former resident of a neighboring district of _Karanese_. It was an odd place, but it was alright. She had made some friends there, like _Mylius Zakamunski_ and the pair of _Franz_ and _Hanna_. The reason she moved here was primarily because her mother, _Ms Carolina_ , used to work as a small time nurse. Unfortunately that place closed down to be replaced by a Garrison HQ a year or two ago, and there weren't any medical centers in Karanese which needed nurses, so Ms Carolina took her daughter to _Trost_ , where she managed to find a job in a small medical area near the house they currently lived in.

She worked about five hours a day since the medical area was not open 24/7, something Ms Carolina didn't complain about as it meant she could be with her daughter more.

And as for physical appearances, she was, visually, similar to Mina, except about one and a half heads taller. Her hair was a very dark grey, so dark that it was often mistaken for black, instead of twin pigtails, tied up in a bun. She also wore the usual female clothes a woman would wear in _Trost_ , a teal dress with some sort of apron. As for eye colour, she a grey pair, though it was a shade darker than her daughters.

Don't ask about her father. He's… somewhere.

When she came here, she was, as any child would most likely be be, extremely nervous about the new place. And everyone else didn't take much interest in a _Karanese_ child. Though it may have also been because she lived near the East sector, which was a largely uninhabited area of _Trost_ , where most kids stayed away from since there were no interesting or fun places, containing an endless grove of trees. The _Garrison_ had intended to deforest the place to make way for a HQ. but they had yet to do so.

There were also rumors that the East sector of _Trost_ was haunted, something which was backed up by the fact that random noises would occasionally come out of nowhere. Strangely enough, Ms Carolina and Mina didn't seem to mind, only considering them annoying at most.

For about two months, Mina stayed friendless, always sitting on a bench in the corner of the play areas of _Trost_ for hours on end, at least until until a certain teen spoke to her. And speaking of the 'devil', the person she was thinking of was right outside her home, yelling up into her window, and by extension, Mina herself. "Mina? You up there?"

Blinking as she snapped out of her minor trance, the girl looked down and saw one of her only friend here in _Trost_ , Nac Tias, the very person who made her curious in the outside world. And the person she first met and immediately befriended her after an extremely awkward meeting.

He was extremely tall for a 14 year old, standing at almost two metres in height. Well, more of a one point seven metres if one were to do their math correctly. Though despite his rather intimidating size, the boy had a friendly face which seemed to always have a smile stuck onto it. Aside from his smile, Nac had black hair which was swept back in a spiky design. His casual outfit was usually long, light grey jeans and a teal t-shirt. Whenever he was asked by Mina about why he chose such an odd shirt colour, Nac replied by saying that teal seemed to be a popular colour here in _Trost_.

Nac himself was quite a smartass, but that personality trait didn't really break through. Instead, the only personality trait which shone straight at everyone he met was his overwhelming amount of friendlessness. The dude was so friendly that, when Mina first met him, she thought his friendly nature seemed rather forced. Hell, it took her awhile to realize that his friendly nature was not a facade, but how he actually acted. While it was a little annoying, as Nac tended to be overly worried whenever something remotely bad happened, she eventually got used to it and accepted that it was normal and even slowly began to enjoy his friendly and occasionally overly worried nature.

She also learnt that he was the type who absolutely loved to learn about things he knew little to nothing about. The boy absolutely _adored_ learning new things, and the fact that she was from a different district ( _Karanese_ ) which had different social patterns and activities made her a prime person made her a target of his love for learning. Though that did get a little annoying, Mina's patience was seemingly endless as she would reply every question Nac had for her to the best of her memories. In return, Nac shared everything which he knew, such as the many, many people in _Trost_ which he knew by at least name.

However, about two months after they met, Nac had brought up a subject on the outside world. Something about the ocean of the outside. When he first asked, Mina dismissed the question, not wanting to reply to something which she had no real interest in. At least, that was how she felt when he first brought that up. Several days after, however, Mina found her curiosity regarding the outside grow, especially her curiosity regarding the ocean as a massive, seemingly endless, body of water both sounded impossible and impressive.

The boy also owned some sort of scrapbook which he had apparently made by himself when he was a young lad. It was made of stained cardboard and thin pieces of scrapped paper he found lying around the floors of _Trost_. Despite looking as though it were a shoddy piece of scrap, both Mina and Ms Carolina could tell that it was made with lots of love. Every last word was written on carefully and the pictures, while they looked rather strange, were drawn rather well.

The images were, as expected, mostly what Nac assumed to be the outside. There were sketches of mountains which seemed to resemble a triangle, a canyon which resembled a couple of bumps and the ocean, which was the stereotypical depiction of water scribbled over with a blue crayon. Everytime Nac found something new to plug into the book, he'd end up finding a piece of paper somewhere on the ground or somewhere in Mina's house.

And apparently his over friendly nature creeped a lot of people out that they kept away from him, much to his sadness. But his optimism kept him from giving up the hunt for friends.

She had met ol' Nac in a small play area near the east. Well, it was somewhere there anyways. Nac apparently didn't know there was a newcomer. Long story short, again, after they had become friends, Mina soon learnt that Nac was, in a way, an orphan who was left on his own for at least half his childhood. The first half was lived out in what used to be an orphanage which was torn down to make way for a _Garrison_ HQ, leading into his second half, living on the streets. And right when she realized that, Mina wasted absolutely no time in asking her mother if Nac could move in with them.

And, surprisingly, Ms Carolina readily accepted Nac into her little family. She didn't change her mind even when she found out that he wanted to learn about the outside, instead encouraging him to do his best to learn.

When she saw that her friend had returned from wherever the Hell he's been at for the past few hours, Mina had smiled and waved down at her friend as Nac jogged right into her… their home. Once inside, the boy greeted Miss Carolina who gave a small, polite smile and nod at him, before heading to Mina's room, or perhaps his room as both Mina and Nac shared a room, something Ms Carolina didn't necessarily agree on for obvious reasons, but she eventually forgot about it.

When Nac got up to their room, the two of them sat down near the window, a personal favorite spot for them to be at, and started conversing about some random guff. Half the conversation was on the outside world while the other half was on random stuff, like how a girl called Sasha stole several pieces of potatoes from a restaurant in _Dauper Village_ , or how Pastor Nick nearly fell off Wall _Shiganshina_ yesterday when he was protesting against the construction of cannons on the 'sacred walls'. It was rather amusing to both of them, honestly.

As he spoke about the Pastor Nick situation, Mina found herself half listening to Tias, wrenching the other part of her mind to think about the _Wall Cultists_. It was… an interesting group to be extremely straightforward. After all, not a lot of people would not worship any kinda God in here, but the Cultists were an… interesting exception.

For some unknown reason, the Wall Cult absolutely **adored** the Walls, and it didn't matter which District it was from. _Shiganshina_ , _Trost_ , _Eutopia_ , _Karanese_ , ect, it never mattered. The Cultists would worship them to no end. They even went so far as to protest against building cannons on top of them or to leave some… offerings in the form of a variety of fruit, candles and meat to try and please their 'Gods'. The latter offering often angered people as meat was a hard to get food, and seeing them being used as 'offerings' in front of a bleeding Wall was… angering to say the least.

"Hey, Mina? You there?" said Nac after some time, noticing Mina's blank stare and waving a hand in front of her face. Shaking her head rather roughly, Mina quickly snapped out of it as she regained her bearings and refocused on Nac.

"Y-Yeah!" she said, smiling as she held up her hands a little sarcastically. "Just thinking about… stuff."

"Right then," said Nac, nodding with a slight smirk as he went on to speak some more.

As Mina listened to Nac speak about the restaurant incident while chuckling every so often, she eventually found herself staring out of the window once more with a slight smile. It was something she did by accident. She didn't know why, but she tended to stare out of the window at random points in time whenever the two of them spoke.

Often times than not, she would just stare up at the sky aimlessly. However, on occasions such as this, she usually found herself wondering about the _Survey Corps_ , who were now on one of their Expeditions outside the Walls.

The _Survey Corps_ were a group in the Military Brigade of the Walls alongside the _Garrison_ and _Military Police Brigade_ , the former being Wall Patrollers and Menders and the latter being enforcers of the ruler of the Walls. As for the _Survey Corps_ , they were responsible for trying to retake the outside world from the Titans. It went as successful as one would think. As in… it wasn't too successful.

With Titans being as tough as they were, the death rate of a _Survey Corp_ was high. So high that not many people intended to join that Military Group. And the popularity of the Corps wasn't too high, as many considered that they were on a fool's errand, that trying to retake the outside was impossible and they should have gotten comfortable with life within the Walls.

But still… there was something… admirable about them. At least to both Mina and Nac, anyways. To Mina, she considered the Corps to be heroes of the people, wanting the best for the residents of the Walls (probably discluding those within _Sina_ ). And it may have been a fool's errand, but they gladly followed through without hesitation (at least they didn't show much hesitation anyways) just to help the residents of the Walls find freedom.

However, Nac's perspective on the Corps was more… subdued to say the least. He still found them to be heroes, yes. But not to Mina's extent, however. He found it them more to be… in a simple term, here to simply fight and die, sacrificed for one unreachable goal. In his mind, being free of the Titans was not within reach, at least in this generation. Perhaps in the far flung future, but not in either his or Mina's lifetimes.

Still… he considered them heroes mostly because they gave the few who supported them hope, hope to one day be free of Titans and expand their humble colonies beyond the Walls. He still knew it most likely wouldn't happen in his lifetime, but perhaps one day, hopefully.

Anyways, for several long minutes, Mina stared blankly out at the night sky, half listening to Nac and half staring out into the darkness. But after some time, she sooned noticed something cutting through the darkness of the night.

"Nac?" muttered Mina, not looking away from the object, making Tias look at her as he closed his notebook. Raising her hand and pointing at it, Mina pointed her index finger at it. "What's that?"

Looking at where she pointed, Nac narrowed his eyes to try and better make out what Mina was talking about, before widening them immensely. "That's… a shooting star!"

After he said that, the pair ran up to plant their faces right against the window to watch as the comet disappeared behind the Wall of _Trost_. The two were rather disappointed, but Nac quickly shook off the disappointment before grabbing out the scrapbook. Quickly flipping through the pages, he found a page which he had written up years ago which explained what Shooting Stars were. At least what he knew of them, anyways.

"Mina!" he called over to his friend before he showed her the page which contained simple images of shooting stars and Nac's personal theories on them, which was mainly him thinking that shooting stars were stars which were moving from one place to another. After looking at the images, Mina asked a simple question.

"Do you think the shooting star will land here?" she asked curiously, tapping her chin in wonder. "Like… somewhere in the Walls, or maybe the outside?"

"I don't know," replied Nac, sounding thoughtful. "There's a very little chance of it landing inside the Walls. The chances of it landing outside is slightly greater, but still unlikely. But hey, who knows?

" _I can't predict the future after all. And if it does, hopefully it crushed a Titan when it landed"_

* * *

"Earth's gravity is still impressive…" muttered Mikazuki as he re-entered _Earth's_ atmosphere. Remembering what he did when he first entered earth, he positioned the _Graze Ein_ below _Barbatos_ like some sort of shield to soak up the heat from re-entry, stabbing the sword into the MS' cockpit, which completely pulverised what remained of Ein's body, and using it as a handle to keep _Barbatos_ firmly latched onto the _Graze Ein_. When he completely entered the planet's atmosphere, he pulled the sword out of the cockpit and jumped off the dilapidated MS, which crashed down many miles away from the _Barbatos_ , and caused a massive explosion on impact.

When it hit the _Earth_ , the _Ein_ crashed into some sort of humanoid figure, pulverising it/

As the ground approached the _Gundam_ , Mikazuki activated the back and leg thrusters alongside the side Land Boosters at full power to slow his descent. He managed to slow his MS' descent down by a substantial amount, though it didn't stop the _Barbatos_ from making a massive crater and kicking up a massive amount of dust when the it landed. Hell, the _Earth_ below the _Barbatos_ shook intensely on impact and the shockwave unrooted multiple trees and flattening thousands of tiny blades of grass.

Through the dust, two piercing light green optics were seen gazing left and right, before their owner, the _Gundam_ stood up straight, looking about. Despite the dust which had accumulated around it, the sensors in the _Barbatos_ , such as the radar and data from _Alaya Vijnana_ ,allowed Mika to detect if an enemy unit was nearby. And he made sure to keep an eye on them for the signals of approaching _Graze_ _Ground Types_ or _Graze Ritters_. Surprisingly, there were little to no indications of any kind of Gjallarhorn activity. Hell, even when Mika checked the radar, he saw that there were no signs of movement, not even any other humans in this wasteland.

But still, despite his instincts on the on board units assured him that nothing dangerous was close by, recent events with Gjallarhorn made Mikazuki a little weary that they'd have an extra _Graze Ein_ in storage, making him more on edge than usual. Looking around, he noticed a massive grove of trees, much larger than the _Barbatos_. The perfect spot to hide in, at least physically as another _Mobile Suit_ would be able to detect _Barbatos'_ Ahab Reactors frequency and track him down. But still, it was better than nothing. Flipping the thrusters on, Mika hovered his MS towards the area, kneeling the _Gundam Frame_ behind a group of larger trees.

Once he was sure he was hidden, he detached himself from the _Barbato's Alaya-Vijnana_ cord and took in a deep breath to recollect his thoughts. As he did, he felt something odd and wet trailing down his right eye. Raising his right arm, he felt his right cheek and wiped something red off it, and saw that it was blood. Looking blankly at his bloodied fingers, Mika silently wondered what the heck happened.

The last thing he remembered was the battle between _Barbatos_ and the _Ein_. He ordered his MS to give him it's all, and it complied with him. Yet… he also remembered a secondary… presence while he fought the _Graze_ … like someone assisting him in combat. A secondary set of eyes which improved his reaction speed, if you will. But now, that feeling was mostly gone, though he felt a very faint sensation similar to what he felt after he pushed past _Barbatos'_ limits.

The last memory he had was him and _Barbatos_ being sucked towards that _Graze_ unit which was apparently intending to blow itself up. But if so, shouldn't he be dead? He also didn't _feel_ dead. He still breathed, he felt his heart slowly thump against his ribcage and he still felt all his joints moving as usual. Maybe this place was Hell or something. Perhaps purgatory? He doubted that, as this place, even if there was no sign of life or activity, seemed brighter than what Mika expected Hell to be like.

Or maybe he was just transported to some other random place. Mika couldn't really remember, but if his memory served him correctly, Old Man Yuki, the old technician and 'teacher' of _Tekkadan_ , said that several _Gundam Frame_ were lost when the _Mobile Suits_ they fought against self destructed. And if he wasn't wrong, Yuki also spoke of 'transportation to other worlds' or something.

Perhaps that was what happened to him? Who knew? Rubbing his chin, Mika assumed that he was just in some area far away from _Tekkadan_ , mainly because he didn't believe in magic and because he didn't know enough about Ahab Reactors to make a solid conclusion. With some hope, Mika tapped the _Barbatos'_ monitor several times to search for some nearby _Tekkadan_ communication lines, and found that there were none nearby.

Raising a confused eyebrow, Mika tried the 'manual search' feature and typed in _Tekkadan_ , which he made sure to memorise the name word by word just in case he needed to do this, only to get the same result. Taking an alternate route, he decided to search for 'CGS', with the same result. After fifteen minutes of contemplating, he decided to try contacting Gjallarhorn, as he assumed that he was too far from the _Tekkadan_ team to contact them.

After spending a solid ten minutes of trying to type Gjallarhorn into the manual search, with searched such as 'Yallahorn' or 'Gullahorn'', Mika gave up as every search result for Gjallarhorn gave the same result, no lines available. He even did a thorough scan on every LCS contact line he could find, and there was nothing.

Blinking, Mika gave out an annoyed sigh as he slouched down in his cockpit seat in defeat. As he did, the boy felt an odd feeling of despair building up in him, a feeling he's almost never felt in the past. Though the feeling rarely came to him, Mika suspected that it was because he was possibly in some other world, far away from _Tekkadan_ , his family.

Having any form of emotion was a rare thing for Mika, so the feeling of despair and loneliness really hit him hard. But thinking about what would happen to _Tekkadan_ after the battle of Edmonton back on his _Earth_ somehow felt worst. Were they dead? Or were they thriving, now a successful company which Orga had wished they would become? He really hoped for the latter.

Thankfully for his confused mind, a slight sound snapped Mika out of his thoughts. It sounded like a footstep of sorts. Too loud to be a humans, as if it belonged to one he would not be able to hear it. Looking at the radar, Mika noticed a figure coming at him slowly. At first, he thought… he hoped, it was a _Graze_ , as it would mean his comm links were just damaged and he couldn't contact anyone,or perhaps the _Gusion Rebake_ or _Ryusei Go_. Plugging back into the _Barbatos_ , Mika turned its head unit towards where the sound came from.

And that feeling of hope was squashed when he saw what it was, and it admittedly freaked him out quite a bit.

The one who made the noise was no _Graze_ , _Gusion_ or _Ryusei_ , far from it. Instead, it was a rather tall humanoid thing, about 7-8 metres, with terribly out of proportionate limbs, a pot belly which made Biscuit look thin, a head larger than the _Barbatos'_ which had an eerie grin which showed two rows of slightly yellowed teeth and some black hair, no clothes, and, strangely enough, no genitals (though that was possibly a good thing). That was what convinced the _Tekkadan_ pilot that he was on some other planet, or perhaps some weird part of Hell, as he knew that giant human things don't exist on Earth. Even with his slight shock, however, Mika stood the _Barbatos_ up to its full extent.

His first instinctual reaction was to aim the Autocannon and blast the thing with a 170mm ammunition round. But still, he decided to take a chance and (try) talking to this… creature. Besides, if he were in another planet, being an enemy to them would be counterproductive.

Turning his MS to look at it, he activated the microphone function in the Gundam.

"Oi… what are you?" he asked, Longsword held tightly in _Barbatos'_ left manipulator. The thing didn't respond, simply staring at the **ASW-G-08/F6** with those lazy orbs which could very charitably be called eyes. For a long moment, Mika wondered if it was braindead, only for it to take a step towards _Barbatos_. And another, and another, before it began to charge straight at the _Barbatos_ , albeit clumsily like some drunk person, both it's arms raised up as though it were trying to tackle his MS down. Mikazuki, on the other hand, was a little dumbfounded. This 7-8 metre, unarmored humanoid thing was charging straight at an 18.8 metre _Gundam Frame_ who armed with a Longsword, two arm mounted Autocannon and a broken, yet could still serve as a good whacking tool or tree toppler, Wrench Mace.

As the thing approached, Mikazuki simply stared in slight disbelief. Though he did manage to only lifted the _Barbato's_ right leg as the thing charged. When it was just about to reach, he swung the leg of his MS's, sending it flying towards the 7/8 metre thing. The impact was so strong that the leg unit of the _Barbatos_ pulverized the entire body of the 7/8 metre creature, the torso and head (including the nape) exploding in a gory mess of guts, blood and bone, staining the grass and a couple of nearby trees.

Stomping the bloody foot of his _Mobile Suit_ down, Augus turned and looked at what remained of the creature. And he only raised his brows when he saw what little of it remain _evaporate_ , the blood, the few chunks of flesh and guts, all slowly dissipating as the seconds went by.

While the thing dissipated, Mika leaned back on his cockpit seat, looking a little thoughtful. What was that thing… that was the main question which nagged at his mind as he crossed his arms. He had never seen something like that on either _Mars_ or _Earth_. Sure, he hasn't been on _Earth_ for more than a week or two so his knowledge on the place was sparse, but he was at least eighty percent sure that these things don't exist from where he came from. That, and Kudelia had never mentioned these things before.

After about a minute of thinking about it, Mika found himself more confused than he was a few minutes prior. Deciding to let the topic drop for the time being, Mika simply assumed it was just a random thing as he began to get the _Barbatos_ moving, but as time went by, he encountered more and more of these creatures. They ranged from a tiny three metres to the impressive fifteen metres in height, though that was all that differentiated them as, discluding size, these large humans were almost exactly the same, visually anyways. Derpy expressions, pot bellies, disproportionate limbs, oversized eyes, and the urge to charge at _Barbatos_ after a few seconds of staring at it.

Everytime an oversized human charged at _Barbatos_ , Mika would react almost instantly, swinging the _Gundam's_ Wrench Mace, the Longsword or just stomping and/or kicking them. And everytime he did so, the oversized human who tried to charge at his MS would almost immediately get pulverised, telling Mika that these weren't exactly the strongest of combatants, at least against a _Mobile Suit_ , though he did wonder how a human fared against them. He also wondered why these things were charging at _Barbatos_. The _Mobile Suit_ and it's pilot, while he was dangerous, wouldn't bother with someone who wasn't hostile towards him. It made him wonder… maybe they couldn't be bothered with _Barbatos_ , maybe they were more interested in him.

Suddenly, after he squashed a five metre humanoid, the on screen alerts in the cockpit flared up. However, it wasn't a detected Ahab Wave. Instead, it was some sort of small projectile in the sky. Small and purple in colour, the object flew straight up, with a slight arc to the left, into the air from a place which was about half a mile away from where Mika was right now.

' _Signal Flare?'_ thought Mika as the optical units of his _Gundam_ zoomed into the supposed flare. And he was right, giving him some hope that there were other humans here. Despite not being the most social person out there, Mika was still human, and humans, whether they knew it or not, craved social interaction, something Mika. Though he didn't get it too high, just in case. However, when he attempted once more at searching the LCS comms, he saw no active comm links, but he quickly considered that since it was a flare, the shooter probably wasn't in an MS. After all, how would one shoot a flare from inside their MS' cockpit? There was the possibility of a flare inside a gun, but Mika highly doubt that.

Taking a different route, Mika activated the local radio links, a system which was built into _Barbatos'_ inner frame's v-fin. The system was powerful enough to pick up human voices from nearly a mile away, and picked up a male voice. He did regret how loud he had the radio at however, when the the voice boomed inside the cockpit and gave Mika a slight headache.

"Hanji!" exclaimed the voice, sounding both furious and horrified at the same time. "You dolt!"

"So I'm not the only one here," muttered Mika, sounding a little hopeful as he recovered from the yell, turning the _Barbatos_ towards where the sound originated from. Crouching his MS down, Augus powered up all the thrusters of his _Mobile Suit_ , before _Barbatos_ blasted forward at an impressive speed, towards where the voices came from.

* * *

 **So yeah, here's C2 of the RM. Now, I'll just admit straight up, this chapter is kinda a mix of various drafts and rewrites. It's an odd combination, but it works alright.**

 **Also, in the previous chapter, I forgot to mention my good pal** _ **FortressHunter**_ **. He's a good bloke who wrote up** _ **Iron Blooded Revolutionary**_ **. I really wanna read the next chapter :3**

 **On another note, I did consider giving** _ **Barbatos**_ **the** _ **Ritter**_ **Shoulder pads and** _ **Graze Ein**_ **axes, but that may end up being a little tough as, even if he's the weakest protag-MS,** _ **Barbatos**_ **is still tougher than any Titan out there. Maybe aside from the Colossal, though.**

 **Not much else to say. So see you in C3.**


	3. Titan Killer

**A couple of hours before the events of C2**

A world where humans were not at the top of the food chain has always an interesting concept to most curious people. Many have theorized that nature and the local wildlife would flourish while humanity slowly dwindled in amount and eventually die out, while others have speculated that the human race would be able to slowly regain the top of the food chain, however long that may take.

For many, however, they may never know what might happen if such a thing would happen. But for one world in particular, it was happening right now, under a starry night sky.

This small world was much like the one most knew about and lived in, a familiar blue and green orb which was sandwiched in between _Mars_ and _Venus_. Like most _Earths_ which people were familiar with, this one had plants such as grass and trees, natural wildlife which was almost identical to the ones on their planet, and even humans. Humans which were genetically identical to us in every way.

 _However_ , there was _one_ thing which differed on this mirrored version of _Earth_ , more specifically on this _Earth's_ iteration of Germany, and it was a major difference which tipped the balance of power in the food chain away from the humans, and that was the inclusion of the disgustingly huge masses of flesh which were known as _Titans_.

Titans… it was a name which made the humans on this little replica of _Earth_ shiver. They were, in essence, massive humanoid beings which resembled humans to a certain extent. Like humans, they had bone structures and multiple internal and external organs (stomach, tongues, eyes, ect). However, that was where their similarities with the human race stopped, as everything else about these Titans were completely different when compared to their smaller, more normal looking counterparts.

For starters, Titans are known for their size. The smallest Titan was easily taller than any normal human alive, standing at an impressive three metres in height. They are also known to frequently grow up to the size of fifteen metres, though they are more commonly seen at the nine to twelve metre points. They are also known to have extremely disproportionate body parts. Though what is disproportionate varies from Titan to Titan, almost all of them can be seen with eyeballs too large for their eye sockets, mouths which were the size of a grown man, arms which were almost as long as their legs and bellies which could fit ten (or more) fully grown men. Titans were also known to break all laws of science as they are capable of regenerating lost body parts if needed, and they seemed to require no food despite their massive frame.

And, the final and most crucial thing which separated Titans from humans was also what defined them as humanity's enemy; the fact that they saw humankind as a food source. Though it was still unclear why as they required no food to survive.

For unknown reasons, Titans seemed to view any and all humans they saw (or smelled) to be a source of food. Currently, no one knew why they did, but no one really asked that question as they were too busy trying to fend them off to really ask. They didn't exactly do a good job, as Titans had attempted to wipe them all out countless times. It was a real miracle that they were not extinct.

And, to make matters much, much worse for humanity on this _Earth_ , Titans have been documented to have existed for as long as theycould remember. There was no explanation as to how they were created, as even the oldest history books which humankind possessed simply stated that at least a hundred years ago, Titans just appeared, and for those hundred years they have attempted to drive humanity into extinction.

Of course, humanity did try to fight back to the best of their abilities, however, but they could not find any effective way to do so as Titans, despite how fragile they seemed, were much more powerful than the average human. After a long, long time of doing this, however, humanity finally found a solution… sort of.

About a hundred or so years ago, multiple massive, Fifty Metre, Walls just sprung out of thin air to protect humanity. It seemed stupid, one would say, but when God gives a desperate person something to defend himself with, said person probably wouldn't complain, wouldn't he? No, that's the answer. And the humans surely did not, as they gladly took refuge inside the Walls for a couple of generations.

The Walls had three main 'zones', and each 'zone' had four 'districts'. The main zones were, from the outer to inner 'cities', _Maria_ , _Rose_ and _Sina_. _Maria_ was the zone which mainly housed the poor and/or the expendable. _Rose_ was similar to _Maria_ in many ways, just with a different name and marginally better living conditions. _Sina_ , unlike the other two, was a haven, at least when compared to the former two, as the innermost Wall housed the higher ups of the Walls, the important people and those who were in positions of power. Of the three, _Maria_ had the most amount of residents, with _Rose_ the second and _Sina_ the third.

There was also a small wall inside of _Sina_ which contained an imposing palace which housed the ruler of the Walls, but it's pretty insignificant to speak of it right now.

The Walls also had a military group split into three sub-groups, the _Military Police Brigade_ came first, followed by the _Garrison_ and finally the _Survey Corps_. Nicknames were made up for all three brigades, like the MPB, Garries and SCs, Scouts or just the Corps, respectively. There were also _Trainee Corps_ , which was responsible for training people whom are usually at the age of eleven or fifteen to become soldiers. The MPB were essentially guards from _Sina_ , comprised of the top ten _Trainee Corp_ graduates. Garries were the 'wall menders', for the lack of a better term. They guarded the Walls which surrounded them and performed routine repairs and inspections in order to prevent a breach. And then there was the SC group.

The _Survey Corps_ was probably the single most dangerous military sub-group of the three. In fact, many considered it to be the _only_ dangerous sub-group as MPBs usually lived in happiness within _Sina_ and Garries tended to be able to relax as the Walls were often times than not in need of repair. Corps, on the other hand, were given perhaps the craziest, and arguably the most suicidal, task when compared to the other two groups, retaking the outside world from the Titans, a goal which was considered to be almost a handful of inches away from being impossible.

The _Survey Corps_ were, understandably, rather unpopular among their fellow Military Groups thanks to its high death rate, especially for the rookies in the regiment . Even so, their admittedly noble goal gained the attention of many people, who had a tendency to blindly signed up, thinking they'd make a difference, though the truth was that they would usually die on their first Expedition in the outside. Even so, their courage was admirable.

The Corps would usually form a standard triangle formation when on expeditions. Around the middle were the higher ranking Corps while those on the outer ends were the Vanguards, those who guarded the sides of the formation, and the Rear Guards, those who protected the back end. And of course, they would ride horses when outside as running would be very inefficient. The _Survey Corps_ also tended to wear an extra green cape with their ' _Wings of Freedom_ ' symbol stitched on.

In expeditions, about 90% of their deaths were caused by Titans who would catch a Corp and consume him or her. But the other 10% of expedition casualties were usually caused by a certain lady who was somehow a high ranking Corp who would often insist on having a closer look at the human eaters, which was exactly what happened on this day, where the lady got too closed of a look and alerted an entire horde of 20 Titans to her group's presence, which was the Rear Guard.

Quickly, one of those in her group loaded and shot a purple flare into the night sky, one of many which they used to signal to the other formation members that there was an emergency and they required immediate assistance, though not before almost ten of the thirty Rear Guard members were eaten. And a few minutes after that, another Corp yelled real loud at the lady in panic when the Titans were about fifty metres behind from them.

"HANJI!" he exclaimed in fear as the woman in question, _Hanji_ , shrunk her head down between her jacket. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"

"I'M SORRY _MOBLIT_!" was 'Hanji's' response to her fellow soldier as she pulled her head out of her Corp jacket, feeling a little bad about making her assistant, Moblit, panic once more. In an attempt to distract herself from that thought, Hanji turned her head around to see how far the Titans were from them, only to turn back when she realized that they were less than forty metres away from their slowest running horses.

Hanji Zoe was a tall woman and a senior _Survey Corp_ , probably somewhere below the age of thirty (presumably 25) with long, dark brown hair tied up in a very unkempt ponytail which would usually be covered in a thin layer of… something. While one would consider it not lady-like, they should probably consider the fact that she was the main 'scientist' of the Corps and that she would usually sleep without removing that ponytail, and she would often times than not forget to take a shower, hence the 'thin layer of something' which would usually be covering her hair. She also had light brown eyes under her custom made 'combat glasses/goggles' which were built by her and two others over the course of two days.

Her custom made 'combat glasses' were modified variants of the standard issue _Survey Corp_ combat glasses worn by those who required them, similarly to those worn by the aptly named Corp, _Goggles_. Hanji's was visually similar, but made of different material, like a more reinforced spectacle frame, thicker straps which fastened her 'glasses' to her head, tougher pins which kept the straps attached to the frame, and a thicker, more resilient glass which could survive a wall from the top of _Maria_. Most of these modifications were suggested and made by Hanji herself.

Moblit, on the other hand, was more well known as 'Hanji's assistant'. The poor lad would often be dragged into all sorts of troubles by his commander, the only thing keeping him from leaving being his incredible loyalty to her (that and several issues which arose whenever he left her unsupervised). The man had smooth brown hair parted down the middle and similarly light brown eyes.

"Don't cause a ruckus now, you two," said a calm, almost emotionless voice which piped up just in time to stop the man from yelling in terror at Hanji. Turning, Moblit spotted a short person whom made his body stiffen, but it was not as bad as when the Titans had begun chasing them. The reason for this was because the man whom had addressed them was possibly among the most famous, or infamous to some, member of the _Survey Corps_ , _Levi Ackerman_.

Levi was, in _short_ … short. Standing at 160cm, one would consider him rather tall… for a child. As for a man in his thirties, however, he was very certainly undersized, making many wonder if he was malnourished as a child. He had short, straight black hair styled in an undercut with narrow, intimidating, and almost always bored looking dull grey eyes with dark circles under them. Despite being somewhere close to his thirties, probably at twenty five, Levi had a deceptively youthful face. He also wore the standard issue Corp uniform with some sort of hanky on his collar. And at the moment, Ackerman's dull grey eyes were (unintentionally) boring large holes into Moblit.

"Focus on getting away for now. Leave the bickering for _if_ we survive this," commanded Levi after he decided to stop staring at Moblit. The man in question simply nodded in response before Ackerman diverting his cold eyes to the route in front before them. Quickly, he got his horse to pick up the pace to get up beside to his group's commander, leaving Hanji and Moblit behind. It took him a few seconds, but he managed to get to the commander of their squad himself, _Erwin Smith_ , a blonde, heavily built and _heavily_ eyebrowed man.

As stated, the commander of this group, Erwin Smith, was a blonde man with epic _Eyebrows of Freedom_ (a name coined by Hanji). His eyes were an icy blue colour which made him look almost as cold and uncaring as Levi. His expression didn't really help change that fact as, despite their current situation, Erwin looked way too calm, as though he were just running away from a girl whom he stole candy from instead of a pack of twenty Titans.

"Erwin," said Levi, sounding just as calm as Erwin's expression, making the blonde turn to face the short man. It wasn't really easy to make out, but Erwin could tell that Levi was not as calm as his expression would lead one to believe. Though to his credit, Levi managed to hide his panic rather effectively, with the only hints being the slight twitch in his eyebrows and the somewhat more intense frown which was plastered on his face. "What's the plan?"

That question nearly made Erwin chuckle, though it was mostly because of the fear building in his chest rather than Levi having said something to make him snigger. He didn't really want to admit it, but he had no proper plan at the moment. It wasn't exactly his fault, however, as it was rather hard to think of a plan whenever their lives were at stake. Still, he kept his expression neutral, even if Levi could tell that he was also panicking a tad, and replied.

"Our best option is to either outrun them…" started Erwin, and his tone suggested that the option was pretty much crossed off the list as the Titans were closing the gap between them and his group with every passing second. "...or hope for someone to spot the flare and assist us from behind. Either that or we can stand our ground… and slowly be overwhelmed and consumed."

"I'm willing to put some hope on the second option," said Levi, and while it would have sounded sarcastic when said by someone else, it somehow seemed entirely serious when it came out of Levi's mouth. "Let's just focus on moving now."

"Agreed," replied Erwin as they pressed on as quick as their horses would be able carry them, hoping beyond hope that they would be able to get out of this situation with minimal casualties. But hope and the four legs of their horses could only carry them so far, and it didn't take long for the first _Survey Corp_ to yell out in fear as he was scooped up into the air by a Titan. Whirling around but not stopping for even a second, the remaining Corps gaped in horror as they saw one of their comrades, a man with chin length brown hair tied into a short ponytail and hazel eyes, got scooped up into the air by an eleven metre classed Titan.

" _Sys_!" exclaimed one of the Corps of the group, a Junior, and the guy nearly reeled his horse around to try and save his senior Corp out of sheer instinct. Thankfully for him, however, a senior Corp managed to hold him back. "Let me go! We can't just-"

"Shut it, rookie!" proclaimed the senior who held him back, but despite his tone sounding almost as hard as iron, there were hints of regret in his voice as he pushed the junior back on track. Turning up to look his senior in the eye, the junior was surprised to see that his elder was shedding a few tears of regret as he shut his eyes tightly, doing his best to block out the screams of his comrade. "Sys… _Luke Sys_ is as good as dead! We can't save him, not with the odds stacked so heavily against us…"

Despite the heavy amount of guilt he felt at leaving _Luke Sys_ behind for dead, the junior Corp reluctantly agreed to those terms. But he still couldn't help but give a saddened glance behind him, one last look at Sys as the Titan inched the man closer to its mouth. The junior shed a few tears, but he tried to keep them to a minimum. There would enough time to mourn for the dead after the Expedition, unless they all died, anyways. However, while the junior was busy keeping his emotions in check, Hanji Zoe's ears abruptly perked up. The woman heard something… something foreign to her… prompting her to close her eyes to try and listen to it more clearly. Beside her, Moblit seemed to notice.

"Squad Leader Hanji...?" he muttered, turning to Hanji, who opened her eyes and looked straight back at him.

"Do you… hear that?" asked Hanji, her voice hushed as her left ear, which was known to be more sensitive than the right, perked up. Moblit tried to ignore the Titans behind him which were most likely eating Sys as he tried to listen in to what Hanji was talking about. And what he heard was subtle at first, but extremely noticeable after less then a second. Opening his mouth, the man was about to ask what Hanji thought it was before a loud boom could be heard behind them.

Whirling around on their torsos, the Rear Guard had intended on getting a look at what happened behind them, only to be greeted by a shockwave which sent both them and their horses flying at least two metres into the air

While a majority of their horses landed relatively safely, not including a few unlucky ones who fractured their bones on impact, the Corps landed a little more harshly, either rolling on the ground to reduce the impact damage, landing on their asses or just falling on their backs. Despite having no fatal injuries from the fall, it still shook the _Survey Corps_ up quite a lot, leaving them disoriented. Even Levi and Erwin were ruffled up by that sudden impact. The one who seemed the least affected was Hanji, who quickly recovered from the fall with a shake of her head and turned it upwards to get a good look at what 'saved' them.

It took awhile for it to be visible thanks to the amount of dust it had kicked up upon impact with the Titans, but once it had cleared, Hanji, along with several other _Survey Corps_ who had their eyes on the thing, widened them when they saw that it was.

It was nearly twenty metres tall, sticking out of the Titan it impacted like an oversized gravestone. In the darkness, she could vaguely make out what it looked like a type of mace or bulky lance of sorts. The segment buried in the Titan was by the bulkiest part of the weapon, being at least one third the length of the entire weapon and was half as wide as it was long, though it seemed to be busted backwards, revealing some sort of serrated blade. The other two third of the weapon, on the other hand, was significantly thinner than the top, with three cylindrical 'handles' were attached to it, and just by looking at the handle sizes alone, Hanji could only dream of what would use it.

Thankfully for her, that question was answered rather quickly and abruptly when that strange sound she heard came up again, this time much louder, coming at them from their right. Turning her head to that direction, along with a few others who weren't too focused on the 'weapon', Hanji widened her eyes when she saw what was approaching.

While hard to make out in the darkness, Hanji could tell very clearly that it was some form of Titan, one which seemed to be _hovering_ towards them with what seemed to be blue flames coming from the sides of it's shins, two black objects on it's hips and on it's back. It seemed to be over seventeen metres, perhaps even nineteen, in height, which was essentially unheard of in Titan history. But those other features seemed almost trivial when compared to one major difference between this… thing and the Titans, and that was it's physical look.

Instead of the usual 'standing in the uncanny valley of looking like a human and a monster' look of every Titan in their textbooks, this one had an almost entirely mechanical look to it, at least from what most of the group could see. It's chassis was predominantly white, accented with red, grey and a touch of gold. They could kinda make out some dark blue on it, but it was hard to see in the darkness. And, as stated above, unlike the usual Titan which usually had a 'lazy walk', this one 'hovered' right towards them, propelled forward by seven units which were blasting out some sort of blue 'flame'. It also had some sort of object attached to it's back, something which Hanji could vaguely make out to be a sword like thing.

Just the mere sight of this new… thing almost made the entire Rear Formation panic, which was understandable as they had horrible experiences with giant humanoid beings. And this apparent new species of 'Titan' which was larger than any recorded, one coming at them at a speed which far surpassed even the fastest of Abnormals, was understandably a horrific scene, at least for most. Hanji, as usual, was staring at the newcomer with wide eyes, shimmering with wonder. Hell, she was even calmer than Levi and Erwin, the latter stepping back in subtle fear at this newcomer. Moblit couldn't even move to get her back as he was too horrified.

But, to the group's shock, and intense relief, this newcomer hovered straight over their heads, even if the rather strong wind blasted out of the 'boosters' did knock some of them onto their backs, though a few, like Hanji, Erwin and Levi, managed to somehow keep themselves upright whilst shielding their eyes from the amount of dust which was blasted their way. Hanji was able to recover quick enough to see the newcomer slam into the twelve metre class Titan that had grabbed Sys with a shoulder ram.

Quickly following up on that, it reached out to grab the head of a fourteen metre that was closing in on it. Straightening its left leg, the strange triangles on either side of the Mechanical Titan's shins burst to life, blasting out a strange blue flame and sending the knee of the Titan straight at the fourteen metre's head at an ungodly speed. On impact, the fourteen metre's head combusted.

The wind generated by the flames emitted by the triangles on the Mechanical Titan's shin sent Sys flying almost ten metres into the air, sending him soaring towards his fellow Corps. The man landed in an awkward tumble, using his arms to absorb most of the shock from the impact which was directed mainly at his head and torso. After he recovered from the drop, Sys took a short moment to recollect himself, before he looked up and saw a Levi with an arm extended outwards to help him up. Sys gladly took it, and Levi hauled him up onto his feet with little problem, but he quickly turned back to the newcomer, as did Sys, just in time to see it punch a fifteen metre class in the head, a strike so hard that it caused the entire head to liquify on impact.

"Pobre de mí…" grumbled Sys, sweating intensely as his racing heart slowly began to steady itself. Once he managed to get himself somewhat calm, the man turned to face the newcomer, who stomped a three metre, leaving behind a pulpy mess. "What is this… thing, Capitán Levi? It doesn't seem to be an Abnormal… it doesn't even _look_ or _act_ like any Titan in written history…"

"I don't know, Sys," replied Levi, his tone subtly lined with fear as he spoke, though even if Sys was sensitive enough to notice, the man was too distracted by his own fear and intense amount of relief at surviving what would have been certain death to notice. But he was taken back into reality when the sound of metal going through flesh was heard. Turning to face it, Sys widened his eyes at what he saw.

A fourteen metre was held tight in the grasp of the newcomer's right arm via its neck. And the nineteen metre's entire left arm was buried deep inside its chest, where it's heart would be, if it had one. And with a powerful jerk, the nineteen metre yanked it's entire arm out, pulling the Titan's organs, specifically the gullet and some of it's stomach, with Titan 'blood' and stomach acids among other things. If that wasn't enough, it squeezed the Titan guts in it's hand, causing it to explode into at least five pounds of Titan juice.

Once that was done, the newcomer tossed the dissolving Titan's corpse straight at another Titan, a twelve metre, and the impact obliterated both bodies of the dead and 'living' Titans. And, despite them seeing plenty of Titan killing action and even the deaths of fellow soldiers, the _Survey Corps_ who watched the spectacle visibly flinched in shock and slight disgust.

The power and sheer brutality displayed by this new 'Mechanical Titan' stunned the Corps, even Levi and Erwin, the former of the two subtly flinching when it sent a Titan onto the ground and crushed it against the earth. As for Hanji, however, she was not just stunned. Shocked wasn't even the proper way to explain how she felt, Hell, amazed wasn't even enough. What she felt right now was so strong, however, that she got a nosebleed just from the amount of blood which was rushing towards her head as she tried to process what was in front of her.

A nineteen metre… no… 18.8, it was a few centimeters short, she could tell (somehow)… Titan,presumed to be a Titan anyways, was _protecting_ them, something which has, to her knowledge, never happened in mankind's history. Unlike it's mindless brothers and sisters, however, this one seemed to be at least somewhat intelligent, as it fought almost as though it were human, striking with it's fists and legs the way a soldier would.

As for it's more physical appearances, it seemed to have joints which were, like the rest of its body, built from pure metal, perhaps some form of highly durable steel or iron not dissimilar to the Ultra Hard Steel used to create the Titan Blades, with visible pistons and pipes on its body which were mostly coloured grey, silver and bronze, clashing hard against the more dominant, livelier colours in its 'outer armour', which was mostly vibrant colours. The brighter colours reminded the woman of a knight clad in armour from those books she read back in her younger days.

Yet, despite it's knight-like look, there was something unmistakably sinister about it. Perhaps it was it's 'eyes', which glowed a powerful green shade. Or perhaps it was the fact that it, in this lighting, looked almost horrific, demonic, even, like something pulled straight out of the books she used to read on Titans.

However, she was pulled out of her thoughts when a loud whack was heard. Turning back to the scenario, she saw that the 18.8 metre had retrieved it's weapon and was, to her surprise, swinging it with little to no trouble. Hell, it swung the thing with one hand, demolishing the torso and heads of a twelve, seven and three metre class trio respectively as though it weighed nothing. That single act made her inner Titan fangirl squeal, but her more reasonable side couldn't help but notice something, this thing was targeting random areas, which was essentially anywhere it's weapon could connect with, but it was not targeting the only spot which could kill a Titan, the nape (discluding the times where it accidentally struck the nape).

So, of course, without thinking as she's known to do despite being what many considered to be the 'smartest person in the _Survey Corps_ ', Hanji cupped her mouth with her hands and shouted out, "HIT THE NAPE!"

And of course, that act caused the other _Survey Corps_ to stare at her in a mix of confusion, shock, and horror. A few even seemed to want to reprimand her but had seemed to lost their voices. Only Erwin and Levi ignored her, as were still staring at this 18.8 metre, with the former looking rather thoughtful as a finger rested on his chin.

"...what?" asked Hanji, confused as she looked at her fellow soldiers. Her confusion was only doubled when her friends look of confusion/shock/horror/anger turned into pure horror. However, it took her a second to realize why. Turning back to face the new Titan, Hanji took a slight step back when she saw it's green eyes glaring at her. And it was then where she let her Titan fangirl self die down and realize that they were still facing a Titan. And even if it was helping them now, it could very well change its mind and turn on them at any time.

However, as a huge relief to everyone, it didn't seem to intend on eating them, though they doubt that it could since that mouthplate gave the Corps (even Hanji) their doubts on if it even had a mouth. Instead, it stepped back, just in time to avoid a charge from a thirteen metre, making it charge right past it. But instead of letting it past, the 18.8 metre snapped it's arm outwards and caught the back of it's head. With little effort, it raised it up into the air before striking it's nape with it's free arm. And within seconds, the Titan dissipated.

Once the deed was done, the 18.8 metre began to almost literally mop the floor with the Titans, though Hanji did notice that it was keeping itself between them and the Titans as it slammed them into the ground and pulping the remaining one's left, so much so that it almost deliberate.

Within two minutes after Hanji had told the newcomer about the nape trick, the floor of the outside forests literally ran red with Titan blood, and even if it did dissipate after some time, it was still quite the sight to behold, even if the Corps could only vaguely make it out, though they could definitely smell the blood. The last Titan was a six metre which managed to avoid all it's attacks, either that or it was hit in a place aside from the nape and was able to regenerate while the newcomer was busy.

Of course, a Titan didn't have any fear receptors, and if it did it certainly didn't show in any of them as it charged the 18.8 metre. The much larger 'Titan' didn't seem to flinch, simply raising it's 'mace' as though it were playing golf, a fancy game played by the people of _Sina_. But in this game, the ball was a six metre monstrosity which was charging at the hitter at top speed. And the hitter itself was holding a massive, twenty metre golf club (possibly) made of pure iron.

When the 'ball' was close enough, the 18.8 metre swung directly at it. And the impact was breathtaking. When it made contact, the six metre's skeletal structure immediately broke apart as though they were held together by glue, pulverised by the impact, and the skin of the Titan tore apart as it's insides combusted, sending Titan flesh and guts everywhere. The sight caused the Corps, even Levi and Erwin, to either gasp in shock or just step back.

Once the final Titan was pulverised, the 18.8 metre lowered it's 'weapon' and held it with it's bulkier half facing downwards, resting it on the ground as though it were a staff. It's back was facing them, and Hanji could vaguely make out that something which was shaped like a sword stuck onto it. Though that was not the only thing she was looking at.

In truth, Hanji wasn't looking at one specific part of the newcomer. Instead, she was looking at every part of it.

The rectangular objects on it's waist, the weird thingamajigs on the bottom of it's forearms which resembled guns much more advanced than those used by the _Military Police_ , the dark grey structures which almost seemed to be it's 'skeleton'... it made her unknowingly drool as she thought about all those features… features which, she realized, would not be able to develop naturally. And that meant that this… 'Titan' was most likely _not_ a natural one… perhaps a special variation of Abnormals? Or maybe it was an entirely new species… a mutation, perhaps? Or maybe…

"S-Squad Leader Hanji…" came a shushed whisper beside her, prompting her to snap out of her minor trance and turn to the side to spot Moblit standing on shaky legs. The poor guy's eyes kept darting from Hanji to the 18.8 Titan, and it was obvious that he was feeling, at the very least, a little uneasy about being as close to it as he was. "Erwin's calling for a retreat…"

"Yes, Moblit?" said Hanji, her voice her usual volume instead of a whisper like her assistant. And it took her a whole second to realize that she may have committed an intense mistake, something which was confirmed when the sound of several pistons and at least half a dozen gears were heard shifting. Slowly, both Corps turned to face the 'Titan', and found it staring right back at them, it's bright green eyes and pink power symbols reflecting off Hanji's goggles.

For several long and painful seconds, neither man/woman or Titan/ _Gundam Frame_ uttered a single word or even move an inch, with the latter staying almost eerily still, it's eyes still fixed on Hanji and Moblit, while the former were scared into near stone-like stillness, looking at the 18.8m Titan with wide eyes. Even Levi felt his heart pound quickly as he waited with breath so baited that it could catch a thousand fishes for something to happen. After the twentieth second, however, Hanji, without thinking (again), raised her right hand and gave a little wave.

"...hi," she said, finally breaking the silence. And that one word which contained only two letters rang through the air like a gunshot. Following the word was about ten seconds of uneasy silence, making Hanji sweat more than she usually would, before a loud, familiar sound was heard, coming from behind the 18.8 metre, prompting the giant to turn to face whatever made that sound, only to step to the side as a Corp wearing a bandana flew past it's head, both blades extended and intending to kill.

The man landed right beside Hanji, in a stance which told the Corps he was in front of that he was ready for a potential fight, even if it meant suicide. "Saw your signal flare," said the Corp with a smirk, though Zoe could tell it was forced. "My group and I knew it was emergency, but I didn't think it was _this_ bad…"

"Neither did we," admitted a beside the newcomer uneasily as the 18.8 metre shifted its attention to regard him. "You did bring your team, right…?"

"Of course, junior!" proclaimed the man, and as he finished, a few Corps, including Hanji, could sort of make out that the 18.8 metre's 'eyes' flashed a darker shade of green for a minute, less than a minute… perhaps even a fraction of a second. And, without any warning, the 18.8 metre bent it's knees a tad, before suddenly leaping backwards a good ten metres, the shockwave it created nearly sending the _Survey Corps_ flying back, again, but this time they held their ground. Once it landed a good distance away from the Corps, the 18.8m 'Titan' turned and boosted off into a more forested area in the outside, sheltered from view. Hanji did notice it placing it's mace-like weapon on it's back as it did.

* * *

" _What was_ _ **that**_ _, exactly?!"_

" _I… I don't know! A n-new Titan, maybe?!"_

Grumbling a little at how annoying they sounded, Mika turned the local audio receptors of the _Barbatos_ off as he boosted his MS away from the group. As he did, however, he felt his mind was burning with confusion right now, but he decided to worry about them once he was out of view of those adults. And at the moment, the massive grove of nearly thirty metre trees were the best place at the moment.

Once he was closed enough, Mika killed the boosters and braced _Barbatos'_ leg units right before both of them dug deep into the earth below the MS and destroying some of the local wildlife, namely the insects and grass, as the MS came to a halt. Turning the _Barbatos_ back to the adults, Mika made sure they were not concentrated on him, and even if they were, he doubted they were brave enough to come at the _Barbatos_ head on.

And, as expected, the group of adults were not necessarily concentrated on him. They did take occasional glances at where he was hiding _Barbatos_ at, but no one seemed willing to pursue him.

Deciding to take a slight breather, Augus knelt his MS down onto one knee and released the built up steam in the _Barbatos'_ vents, though it wasn't too much as that battle did not build up too much internal heat. As _Barbatos_ expunged unnecessary heat from it's systems, Mika glanced back at the group of adults. There were more of them than he had remembered, though he presumed that they had regrouped with another team as one of those adults had mentioned teams.

However, his primary concern wasn't the about the adults. It was more about why he helped them in the first place.

While he did occasionally help others, it was still a rare thing as he would usually do so only when Orga asked him to, and even then he could have to consider if he felt like doing so, something that was rarer than Orga asking him to do so. It was even rarer for him to help someone he didn't know, though there were some exceptions. Perhaps it was his desperation, or perhaps it was that weird, lingering feeling of loneliness. Or maybe it was a combination of both, or perhaps it was something else.

Back when he found the location of the group of adults, he felt an odd feeling in his chest. It was a foreign feeling to him, but it felt oddly familiar, the feeling of sympathy when he was watching them get chased by those large humans. And that feeling apparently took over his base instincts when he saw that man get scooped up by that twelve metre… thing.

Whatever it was, Mika currently had no definite answer to his growing amount of questions, with 'where I am' and 'what are those large things' being one of the two larger ones. Though he did get an answer to what those 'large humans' were called, 'Titans', so that was something. He also learnt that these 'Titans' were strong, at least in human terms. Strong enough to at least grab a human and hold them tight, anyways.

Thankfully, he was quickly pulled out of his thoughts when he noticed something on the radar. Several somethings from the area where the adults were at. Turning _Barbatos'_ head unit to face it, Mika zoomed in on the group with the _Barbatos'_ optic units, only to find another, larger group of adults were joining the one he just protected. It was most likely the team which was led by that guy with the bandana.

For a long moment, Mika kept _Barbatos'_ optics trained on the two groups as they regrouped, keeping his _Mobile Suit's_ comm-links active as he did. Zooming in close with the optical sensors of his MS, Augus watched as the two groups of adults spoke to each other, speaking about things which Mika didn't know about. Despite that, however, Mika did catch a few names and even a couple of sentences, key of which included _"returning to Shiganshina"_ and _"this is all Hanji's bloody fault…"_

Mika suspected that Hanji was the bespectacled woman, mainly because he wanted to. However, he did raise an eyebrow when they spoke about this ' _Shiganshina_ '. Scratching the back of his neck, the boy presumed that this _Shiganshina_ place was a stronghold of sorts. Mika, however, wondered what could keep these things out no matter how strong the stronghold was. They were definitely not strong, at least when compared to _Barbatos_ , but they could potentially break through wood.

He could only think of some sort of Wall, perhaps larger than twenty metres. Fifty metres perhaps?

The boy only wondered for a few seconds before he heard a soft neigh, and he turned his MS back to face the group of adults who were now riding off to this _'Shiganshina_ '.

Despite not thinking that there was a stronghold which was able to keep these 'Titans' away, Mika weighed his options, which were rather sparse, considering how he had only two, to either stay outside of this supposed stronghold and slowly wait as his body functions stopped working, or to follow the humans to their supposed stronghold and perhaps even infiltrate it.

And at the time, Mika found the best course of action to be to follow them.

He also decided to leave the question of getting _Barbatos_ into this stronghold of there's a question for when he saw what it looked like firsthand.

* * *

 **Don't call it a comeback.**

 **So yes, I have returned from God knows where.**

 **Alright, on a more serious topic, I've been gone because of one reason, four words,** _ **Digimon Story; Cyber Sleuth**_ **. Ever since I got that game, it has taken over my life. Probably my nostalgia for Digimon, honestly. Even so, I've been updating this for a long time too. I mean, I uploaded the wrong chapter last time, so I had to make up for that somehow.**

 **(If you're wondering, I did take inspiration from the** _ **Transformers; ROTF Forest Battle**_ **for one of the battle paragraphs in this chapter)**

 **Also, I should probably say that Hanji is gonna be a she in this fic, cos reasons.**

 **And as an unimportant note, I watched** _ **Justice League**_ **a couple a' days ago. It was enjoyable.**

 **And on a** _ **slightly**_ **more important note, I have approximately** _ **4**_ **stories in the pipeline, 3 of which are crossovers. I can't really say much on em, but I can tell you that one of them may be a little** _ **Quirky**_ **, if you catch my** _ **drift**_ **. You probably don't, since we're not** _ **Drift Compatible**_ **.**

 **Anyways, enough foreshadowing. Onto the replies before my fever comes back.**

 **xXgohanXx21: thanks :3**

 **Bloodege2001: well, here's more**

 **Ulydace: I kinda responded to him via a private message, but I still gotta say that I do agree on that. And also I'm a little happy about finally getting criticism.**

* * *

 **So yes, that's all I gotta say. See ya later, and go to my pal,** _ **Fortresshunter's**_ **, profile. He's a good chap.**


	4. Return from the outside

**Sometime during sunrise**

Within the Walls which safeguarded humanity, it was common knowledge to most, at least those living in the south edges of the Walls anyways, that seeing the _Survey Corps_ return from an expedition was never a sight for the faint of heart.

It never mattered how many _Survey Corps_ had embarked on an expedition, nor how strong, fast and/or even intelligent they were. In due time, even the strongest of them (with some exceptions) would all be slaughtered outside the walls by the Titans. Every expedition was basically suicide to most residents of the Walls, _Survey Corp_ or not. But still, the Corps never stopped moving outside their safe zones to attempt to retake the outside world.

And it was mainly for that reason why at least a hundred or so people supported them. The _Survey Corps_ , to their supporters, were a symbol of hope. They represented the human side of the war they were waging against the Titans for freedom. Corp supporters usually argued that their idols, the 'heroes of humanity', were actually winning this battle, or at least helping humanity fight back in some way, though that argument was usually thrown out the window when the _Survey Corps_ actually returned from an expedition.

Every single time they returned from the outside, their numbers would always be lesser than they were before they embarked in one way or the other, be it the large amount of missing/deceased soldiers or the amount of wounded soldiers they had accumulated over the course of a few short days. Family members of the deceased usually had nothing to bury since the Titans usually completely consumed their targets.

However, the alternative was arguably even worse, as, on occasion, a Titan would leave behind a chunk of it's victim after consuming it, having failed to consume their target entirely. This meant that they would, on rare instances, have _something_ to give to their fallen comrade's families, be it a finger, an arm, their fallen comrade's entire upper torso, or, on very, very rare occasions, an entire body which was still left intact. It wasn't much, but it was enough to say sorry, sometimes.

Slowly and loudly, the gears that controlled the gate which served as the only way in and out of _Shiganshina_ slid upwards, the edges of the gate scraping loudly against it's frame as it was lifted up, allowing the returning _Survey Corps_ to enter via horseback. In the background, the sounds of the cannons atop the Walls of _Shiganshina_ could be heard blasting the Titans who were attempting to get in. But no one was paying any real attention to that sound. Instead, their attention was fully affixed on the returning _Survey Corps_.

While it was common to see the Corps missing comrades, with missing chunks of their bodies, or, if they're lucky, with some minor injuries, the people who always gathered to see them return were never used to seeing the amount of injuries or casualties the _Survey Corps_ had acquired. One couldn't really blame them, as _almost_ no one could ever get used to seeing a fellow human with a missing arm, a gouged out eye, or the haunting feeling of staring at a human corpse, though some of the younger, naive children in the crowd tried to say hello to the unmoving carcasses of the deceased. Erwin took note of two children, one which seemed a little enthusiastic about them returning while his… friend, perhaps sister, just stood silently beside him, her emotion the complete opposite of her friend/brother's.

In the middle of the formation, Hanji stayed uncannily quiet and her emotion was uncharacteristically neutral as they rode through the crowd. The other Corps should've been used to it by now, but for whatever reason, they weren't. Even Levi, who has been with Hanji since their first expedition, was not that used to it. After every expedition, Hanji would stay quiet and neutral for at least a week, something which was very out of character for the lady.

A few Corps had theorised that this was how Hanji would cope with the loss of so many of their comrades, especially the ones whom she unintentionally and/or indirectly killed whenever she moved in too close to a pack of Titan. It was a theory which held up, though no one dared ask Hanji why she was sulking to confirm it as the last person who did so was promptly kicked out of her room.

They were also a little too used to Hanji's endlessly enthusiasm, cheeriness and even her willingness to learn every last scrap of info regarding the Titans instead of how she was after every expedition, which was the complete opposite. Though thankfully, usually a week after an expedition, Hanji's mood would suddenly take a total one eighty change and she'd return to her cheery mood. It was odd, but they never complained.

"Moses…?" came a voice which belonged to an elderly sounding woman. It took the _Survey Corps_ a few seconds to realize who she was. Average sized and wearing a shirt which didn't seemed out of the ordinary in _Shiganshina_ , the lady was known to most as the loving mother of the _Survey Corp_ junior, Moses, and known to others as the lady who always gave Moses and his friends food during their break periods.

"E-Excuse me, commander…" said Moses' mother as she walked up towards the current _Survey Corp_ commander, Keith Shadis. And just seeing her, with that hopeful look in her eyes and the way she clasped her hands together in the hopes of being able to welcome her son back to _Shiganshina_ with a massive hug made most of the Corps turn away in shame. But it did not stop them from halting their horses. "I… I don't see my son… Moses… do you know where I can find him…?"

Keith only stayed silent for a short moment, creating tension so thick that the people around him couldn't even breath. But he eventually spoke in his usual, neutral and monotonous tone, though there were some subtle hints of regret as he spoke. "It's Moses' mother… bring it over…"

And Keith's neutral look nearly shattered when he saw the emotion which the lady was showing. She was clearly feeling a massive mix of different emotions, denial was most likely the most prominent, with shock, disbelief and just a little anger added into the mix. And among those emotions, denial was perhaps the strongest of the bunch, at least until a fellow _Survey Corp_ with a bandage over his left eye handed something wrapped in a white cloth which had a couple blotches of blood to Moses' mother.

The lady's heart pounded intensely in her heart as she looked at the thing, the last bit of hope in her eyes shattering as her mind reached the correct conclusions. She spared a glance up to Keith, who was still looking at her with a somewhat nervous expression, though it was hidden behind a thick layer of neutrality, before she very hesitantly lifted a portion of the white cloth up, only to attempt to cover it back up when she saw what it's content was.

It was an arm, a blood stained one at that. Judging from its appearance, it was just recently severed since it was still relatively skin coloured instead of pale. But at the moment, Moses' mother was not interested in its appearance. She was focused more on one thing, that her son was now marked as dead. It was enough to make her break down into tears, making most Corps turn away in shame. Keith, on the other hand, felt that he had no right to do so and kept his gaze fixed on Moses' mother.

"I'm sorry…" muttered Keith, doing his best to keep it together. "It… it was all we were able to recover…

At this point, Moses' mother was not listening. Instead, she fell to her knees, holding the wrapping which contained the only salvaged piece of her son closed to her cheek as she weeped silently.

The few seconds of silence which followed was perhaps the longest amount few seconds anyone in _Shiganshina_ had experienced. On the seventh second, Keith knelt down to face Moses' mother. He had intended to perhaps comfort the lady, no matter how embarrassing it may seem for a Corp commander to be doing so in public. But before the man could do so, the lady spoke up.

"But… my… my son…" muttered Moses' mother, her voice soft at first, but it eventually rose in volume. "He… he carried out his duty… right?"

Keith flinched when she asked that, not knowing what to say as two sizable streams of tears flowed from her eyes and down her cheeks.

"Although it may not have been anything significant…" continued the lady, barely keeping her voice steady as she jerked her head up to look Keith in the eyes. "He contributed to mankind's retaliation somehow, didn't he?!"

By then, Keith's neutral look had faded away, now replaced with an incredibly nervous expression. He had no answer to that question, a truthful one, anyways. A large part of him intended to say that Moses had contributed to mankind's retaliation, but his conscious prevented him from doing so.

"O-Of course!" started Keith, wanting to convince Moses' mother that her son's death was not in vain, but he stopped himself. No… he couldn't. While it would have been the nice thing to do, his conscious forcefully stopped him from doing so. It was _his_ fault for the death of Moses, and his damned conscious would not allow him to say otherwise. "No… through this mission, we… no, through all of our missions…"

Keith paused for a short moment, hesitating to continue. But he gritted his teeth, sucked up his pride, and proclaimed; "We've failed to achieve _anything_! Because of _my_ incompetence, I've gotten soldiers killed for nothing and failed to learn even the slightest thing about _them_!"

Behind Keith, the other _Survey Corps_ looked in stunned shock as Keith admitted everything that he has felt for since he saw his first Corp death. Even Levi let his neutral emotion fall apart, his eyes widening and his mouth slightly agape as he watched two streams of tears slide from Keith's eyes.

* * *

 **A couple of hours later**

Hanji Zoe's room was, in short, a mess.

Her entire room was, for the most part, always messier than yours, with multiple, multiple stacks of paper littering the place's floor in a very, very untidy manner. Hanji would usually try her best to keep it at neat as possible, though to little effect as it ended up turning back into what one would consider to be a paper wasteland.

As for furniture, her room had a bed which was pretty much always unmade, with her pillow always on the floor every time Hanji woke up from her sleep and her blanket would always be in tangles, more often than not with her being the one who was tangled. Of course, this was whenever she slept on her bed as she had a penchant for sleeping by her desk. And there was a very obvious hole in her pillow which was hastily stitched back together.

Hanji also had, as stated above, a desk which was right next to her bed. And, as expected, her desk was as messy as the rest of her room. It was, and this is someone being generous, at least a little more tidy than their floor, though that was only because Hanji had _tried_ to keep the almost uncountable pieces of paper on the thing neat, trying her best to stack them up or even tie them together, often to little success. But it was a good effort nonetheless.

There were at least three corkboards which hung on the walls of her room. Keith had given them to Hanji on Levi's request to try and lessen the mess in the woman's room. It didn't exactly work as, within the week, the corkboards were completely filled to the brim with theories and other stuff Hanji felt like sticking onto it. And it didn't take much more than two days for the room to be messed up by paper, again. The same happened even after she was given the other two corkboards. After she had used up all the space on the third, Keith and Levi gave up on trying to help her keep her room clean and just made sure to stay well away from it to avoid catching whatever potentially dangerous diseases which were likely floating around in there. The same applied to everyone who wished to stay healthy.

Hanji also had a decently sized closet at the corner of her room, though half of the closet held papers while the other half held her Corp uniforms and other outfits she kept for casual use.

Many plans had been made to clean the room by Levi, but he had neither the time never nor the inclination to step into the room to assist.

Most of the time, when Hanji returned from an expedition, and after the (usually) two hour debrief, she would immediately drop down on her bed to rest and to begin her mental planning for their next trip out into the outside world, trying to figure out ways to lessen the casualties and perhaps tweak their formation for a better and safer expedition, with a few minutes of sulking between the two. It was routine for her to stay inside for many, many hours, sometimes missing her lunch/dinner breaks intentionally just to get a few more hours of planning/rest/sulking.

However, today, she did neither of the three. Instead, right after she entered her room after the debriefing, she immediately slammed the door behind her, sending a few pieces of paper flying ever so slightly as she marched over to her desk and pushed the stacks of paper which were piled on top of it straight off without a second thought, creating a loud boom when they hit the floor, and the resulting shockwave sending those which were already on the floor flying, but Hanji ignored that as she fumbled for a blank piece of paper. The thump which the impact created made several Corps stare at her closed door, wondering if she had broken something again, but they quickly retreated back into their respective dorms when they heard another boom and Hanji cursing with her usual slang, a slang she used when she was in a good mood, suggesting to some that her mood was, for once, not down after an expedition, an admittedly pleasant surprise to most knowing that Hanji was probably not going to be depressed for a week, hopefully. The only soldier who stayed outside her dorm was Moblit, who was, as usual, worried that Hanji had finally given into the stress and had snapped.

Back with Hanji, it took her a few moments to find a semi-blank piece of paper… semi-blank as there were multiple, messy sketches of random Titans in the bottom corner of it. But Hanji promptly erased it, albeit messily with an imprint of the former image still on the bottom edge of the paper, before she began drawing/sketching something.

It was an image of that 'Titan' which her group had discovered mere hours ago. Sure, it was crudely drawn and extremely misshapen, with non-existent proportions and strange details which she had added to areas which were not visible to them in the night sky, but it did somewhat resemble the real thing (for the most part). And one couldn't necessarily blame her for drawing it incorrectly, however, as it was horrifically dark when they first encountered it. That, and she wasn't exactly completely focused on it back than, considering the situation she was in when she first saw it.

Once Hanji had finished the sketch, she immediately zipped towards the corkboard with the least amount of shiet on it and stuck the image of the 'Titan' onto the very center of the thing, completely ignoring what used to be below it. She took a minute or two to admire her messy yet somewhat charming sketch before dashing to get a notebook from her desk. It took her five minutes, but she managed to find one which wasn't fully used and began writing about what she knew about this 'Titan'

The first thing she wrote about was a designated name for this Titan. Titans were often given name designations such as a 'Metre Class' for how tall they were and 'Abnormal' based on _abnormal_ behaviors observed by the _Survey Corps_ , so Hanji saw no reason to not give this one a designation as well. Well, at first she had intended to give it the designation of ' _19 metre Abnormal Iron Titan_ ', but she found it to be too long, prompting her to pick a from a list of shorter names, with _'_ _Mitternachtstitan'_ and ' _Geist von draußen_ ' being among the ones she considered,but the ' _Mechanical Titan_ ' was the one she found most fitting. It was Mechanical, after all. And it was, presumably, a Titan as well.

Once that was done, she ripped the page from the notebook and tacked it onto the cork board. She then began writing about what she knew, colouration ( _Barbatos'_ colouration), body language (suspiciously humanoid), possible threat (hovering somewhere between 3 and 10 as, despite the _Mechanical Titan_ not attacking them, it was still capable of causing massive amounts of damage if it wished to), ect. And within an hour, the cork board was pretty much completely covered in Hanji's theories, thoughts and general fangasm regarding the _Mechanical Titan_ , covering up everything which used to occupy that space. Hell, she was so preoccupied with her many hypothesis' regarding the newly discovered entity that she didn't notice that a certain _Survey Corp_ had opened her door and was leaning against the door frame for quite some time until he cleared his throat, making her turn around and spot Levi, looking as bored as ever, and Moblit, who looked as worried as ever, both standing by the door.

"Levi!" greeted Hanji with her usual cheeriness, making Levi prop an eyebrow up, considering how he had expected her to be sulking on the floor instead of… whatever she was doing at the moment. But he didn't really mind it, even if his facial expression didn't show it.

"Good to see you doing something productive after an expedition for once," said Levi in a neutral tone, crossing his arms as Hanji strolled over towards him, still holding her notebook and with a pencil propped on her ear. And for whatever reason, Levi felt inwardly pleased that she was not sulking, but he ignored that thought as he remembered why he was here. Moblit, on the other hand, smiled when he saw his commander as happy as she was.

"Yeah, guess so," agreed Hanji, her face reddening in insult when he said that. But she promptly got over that when she remembered that Levi would never come to her room unless something was up, mainly because her room was such a mess that even Levi dared not enter despite being a clean freak. So, succumbing to her curiosity, she asked the short man. "So… why you here anyways? Usually you'd come here only when under orders."

"It's simple," replied Levi, and some small amount of sarcasm was could be heard in his voice (at least by Hanji) as he motioned for Moblit to take his leave. "I'm under orders."

"Oh? From who?"

"Keith. Now stop your blabbering and come on."

"Alright…"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"You're not gonna tell me why, aren't you?"

"No, but I'm sure you know why he wants to meet you, anyways."

"Guess so… anyways! We're wasting time! Let's move!"

With that last bit of friendly banter said, and after Levi rolled his eyes and gave a soft, annoyed sigh, the short man led the tall woman towards Keith Shadis' office.

* * *

 **A couple of minutes later, in the** _ **Survey Corp**_ **Commander office**

The voice of Hanji Zoe was the first indication to both Erwin and Keith that Levi had successfully got Hanji to follow him, though it wasn't much of a surprise to either, as Hanji was known to listen to Levi with little to no question.

"They're here," said Erwin, stating the obvious as Keith simply nodded grouchily, prompting the blonde man to internally sigh as he positioned his hands behind his back.

This was pretty much a normal thing for Keith after every expedition. Every time after they returned from a mission to the outside, and after every debrief session, Keith would always retreat back to the _Survey Corp_ office to plan for the next expedition, and to drown in an ocean of his own guilt for letting so many who were under his command die such gruesome deaths. This cycle would only get worse and worse after every expedition, his regret piling up endlessly, causing him an endless amount of stress which threatened to make him lose his hair.

Basically, he was Hanji after every expedition, but amplified by a hundred. Or, as a few Corps had put it, a thousand. Perhaps even a million.

Though, of course, not everything was completely horrible and depressing. Every time he isolated himself for planning, almost no Corp had dared to approach him in fear for reprimandation. No Corp, that is, except for Erwin Smith, the man whom both the other _Survey Corps_ and even Keith himself considered to be the Section Commander's right hand man. The blonde would usually accompany Keith in his planning/sulking, often times than not giving moral support and as much input as he could on his strategies. If Keith were honest, Erwin was probably the only thing which kept him between sanity and a full mental breakdown.

On this specific day, however, Erwin noted that Keith seemed to be slightly mess tense when compared to other times. He didn't scribble much on the paper which was on his desk, a piece of paper which was meant for planning the formations, and he seemed to be deep in thought, more so than usual. The blonde man had an idea of what was in Keith's mind, but he wasn't necessarily sure about that thought until he asked about it.

"Commander Keith," began Erwin, glancing at said man as he turned to face him.

"Please, Erwin," said Keith with a courteous smile. "No need to use that title when we are speaking in private confidence." Erwin responded to that with a nod before Keith continued. "Now, what were you about to say?"

"Well," said Erwin scratching his chin sheepishly as he continued. "It's a trivial question, but are you thinking about _it_?"

Erwin calling the unidentified 18.8 metre Titan an _it_ was a little unnecessary as no one else was here to overhear them. Still, with Erwin being as cautious as he was, he decided to do so _just in case_. And, as he expected, Keith knew what he was talking about.

"You're talking about that 'Titan' which you and your team encountered, yes?" asked Keith with a brow raised. Erwin gave a nod, and Keith gave what could generously be considered a chuckle. "Perhaps. What gave you that idea?"

"Well, you seem to be thinking more than usual," said Erwin, scratching his chin. "You usually write _and_ think at the same time. That, and you got Levi to go summon Hanji, who, from what I hear, is currently theorising on the unidentified Titan."

When he finished, Keith gave a soft chuckle. This was why he, more often than not, considered Erwin to be his successor as _Survey Corp_ commander if he stepped down or fell in combat. The blonde could tell that something was on his mind just from noticing such minute details which others would have missed. Such a skill was rare among soldiers, though there were a couple of minor exceptions.

"Perhaps we should discuss this once our friends come in," suggested Keith, an option which Erwin halfheartedly agreed with. And, within a few minutes… or seconds, someone knocked on the door to Keith's office, sounding a little loud, signifying to Erwin that Levi was the one who knocked. And, after Keith allowed them to enter, the door swung open, revealing Hanji and Levi sending friendly banter between each other.

"I'm calling it now, they wanna talk about _it_ ," said Hanji as they walked in, making Levi roll his eyes. Currently, Hanji seemed to be her usual self. Not her usual self after an expedition, but her actual self. Cheary, enthusiastic, and with a wide smile on her face as she came in, something which made Erwin unintentionally smile. As for Levi, he looked as he always did.

"Yeah, whatever," was Levi's reply as they stood up straight at attention when they were right in front of Keith's table, with Hanji standing straighter more so than Levi, though she was visibly rolling on the balls of her feet as she stood. "Commander, as you can see, I… retrieved Hanji."

"I can tell," said Keith, an attempt at humor which didn't necessarily work as everyone in the room stayed dead quiet for some time. After a while, Keith awkwardly cleared his throat and continued. "Now… I'm sure why I called Levi to summon specifically you, Hanji…"

"Weeeeeeeell… I kinda have an idea why," said Hanji with a thoughtful smirk as she tapped her chin rather playfully. "Kinda obvious. It's about the _Mechanical Titan_ , eh?"

" _Mechanical Titan_?" said Erwin, an eyebrow raised as Levi sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"It's the codename Hanji gave the 'Rogue' Titan we encountered while outside," translated Levi. Erwin and Keith turned to Hanji, who nodded in confirmation, looking a little cocky as she did. Though that look was wiped off her face when Levi punched her shoulder. "Turns out she was theorising about it for the past hour or so. Shook the building at least ten times when she did."

Keith simply nodded when Levi said that as though he expected nothing less than Hanji theorising on the ' _Mechanical Titan_ ' and shaking the _Survey Corp_ HQ in _Rose_ ten times right when she returned from the outside. "Well, what a pleasant surprise…" said Keith with a small smile as he cupped his hands together.

"Really?" asked Hanji, tilting her head as she completely forgot about why she thought she was called in. "How so?"

"Well…" said Keith. "It's regarding the _Mechanical Titan_. I wanted to know what you thought of it."

"Oh… OH!" proclaimed Hanji as her memory caught up with her as she turned to Levi. "Called it!"

"Yeah yeah, whatever," grumbled Levi, crossing his arms as Hanji smiled victoriously and gave a fistbump. Erwin simply shook his head in mock disappointment as he watched, clearly amused as, despite being used to seeing those two Senior Corps bicker every single day, it was always entertaining to watch them go at it.

"Anyways, whaddya wanna know, Keith?" asked Hanji after she finished smiling.

"... _everything_ you've theorised on this _Mechanical Titan_ ," replied Keith after some thinking, making Erwin and Levi step back in shock. It was mainly because if anyone were to ask on _everything_ Hanji had theorised on, they would be sitting there for at _least_ three hours, and at worse, eight or even twelve. And, somehow, Hanji could speak without breathing (not noticeably anyways) or drinking water. It honestly made most think she was not human. Even Moblit, the soldier who worked with her for several years, couldn't keep himself attentive for the entire duration of her theories.

Hanji, on the other hand, was elated to hear that. So much so that she ended up jumping up and down, clapping her hands as she giggled like a maniac, making Levi instinctively take a step or two away from her.

"Gladly!" proclaimed Hanji with a smirk, something which made Levi jump a tad, before she rubbed her hands together like some sort of psychopath, prompting Levi to widen the gap between him and the bespectacled woman even more. And, for the next five hours or so, Zoe listed out practically _everything_ she had theorised on the _Mechanical Titan_ so far.

During this time, Levi found himself falling asleep while standing up with his eyes opened somehow, clearly not interested a single word Hanji was saying. Erwin and Keith, on the other hand, stayed attentive through the entire explanation, with Keith listening more attentively than Erwin, who eventually got confused and lost track. Though he got the basics of what Hanji had theorised on this _Mechanical Titan_.

Her theories were largely the same: that this Titan could very well _not_ be a Titan. Hanji said that there were too many differences, physically anyways, at least from what she could tell in the dark. She presumed this to be some sort of mutation or subspecies, both of which were extreme but still worth considering. She also theorised that the 18.8 metre was capable of thought, something Levi, after Hanji woke him up, and Erwin agreed to as all three of them did see it fight, as it was seen using some form of strategy while it fought the Titans, even taking Hanji's advice in striking the napes of Titans to kill them.

Once Hanji finished exactly at the five hour mark, and after she woke Levi up for the third time, Keith narrowed his eyes as he cupped his hands together and rested his chin on them, thoughtful. He stayed that way for some time, making Levi get a bad feeling at the silence.

"Commander," said Levi, voice sounding rather hoarse as he had not drank anything for the last few hours, prompting him to clear his throat before continuing, and when he spoke up, the three others in the room turned to face him. "Please. Don't tell me you're thinking what I think you're thinking."

Despite him not specifying what he was speaking about, Keith knew exactly what he meant, prompting the Corp Commander to let out a soft, almost inaudible chuckle.

"Levi," said Keith, sounding calmer than Levi remembered, making the short man flinch slightly. "I know your concerns… but, while I hate to admit such a thing, we are losing this war against the Titans. And currently, any risk for a tactical advantage we can take to tip the balance in our favor is one which I am willing to take."

"Hold up now," said Hanji, making everyone turn to see her with wide eyes and practically dancing, bouncing from leg to leg as she contained what Erwin assumed to be anticipation at what she thought Keith would say, though just _barely_. "Are you suggesting-"

"Yes…" admitted Keith with a resigned nod. "I'm thinking of possibly… _capturing_ this Titan…"

Noting the odd way Keith had said capturing, Erwin quickly figured out what he meant. This Titan… _Mechanical Titan_ was potentially capable of thought, meaning that it could perhaps behave like a human, and like a human, it could perhaps be goaded to join their side. It was a thought which made the blonde wonder if either he or Keith, or both of them had lost their minds.

However, Levi, on the other hand, was already thinking that they _were_ out of their minds. Perhaps Keith was too eager to get an upper hand against the Titans to think of any more logical problems that would arise. The largest problem was the fact that there was an extremely, _extremely_ low chance of them even _encountering_ the 18.8 metre on the next expedition, or perhaps even the one after, and so on. The other question included _how_ they'd capture it, considering how they have never captured even a regular Titan in the past.

There were many others in the pipeline, but before Levi could even open his mouth to list them out, the door to the Corp Commander office burst open, revealing a _Garrison_ who wore a scarf around her neck. She wore the standard issue female Corp uniform and still had the 3D Maneuver Gear attached to her waist, gear which was _painted on_. They recognised her as _Flex Moto Ray_ , a senior _Garrison_ who graduated on the same day as Levi, Hanji and Erwin.

Most of the time they saw her, Flex would have a polite, calm smile on her face, something which reflected her mannerisms. But here, she seemed panicked, breathing heavily as she hastily straightened herself up.

"C-Commander Keith!" proclaimed Flex, her panicked tone fitting her panicked expression.

"Yes, soldier?" replied Keith, wondering what the Wall painter was panicking about. He hoped that it was something minor, like a _Survey Corp_ breaking a leg by accident or something like that. But unfortunately, this was not his day.

"A m-message forwarded from the _Garrison_ HQ in _Shiganshina_!" blurted out Flex, her panic only rising as she continued. "The Wall overlooking the district has been b-breached!"

And the last few bits of calm Keith had left in his system completely shattered as he slammed his palms on his desk and stood up so forcefully that his chair flew back. As for the other three, Erwin widened his eyes in shock while Levi flinched even harder than ever. Hanji, on the other hand, was the first one to raise her voice.

"WHAT?!" she proclaimed, and her voice sounded more panicked than any other time Levi and Erwin have ever heard it. "HOW?! THE WALL-"

"A Titan!" replied Flex as multiple other soldiers rushed behind her to get to _Shiganshina_ as quickly as they could. "A… a 60 metre class!"

60 metres… a personal record among the Titans. Even the newly discovered 18.8 metre _Mechanical Titan_ was nothing compared to that. But Hanji forced herself to not fangasm now, considering how they were in serious trouble at the moment.

As for Keith, he scraped the last few fleeting scraps of calm he had left and stood up. Turning to Erwin, he gave the blonde a firm stare. "Erwin, Hanji, Levi, you three will be in charge of evacuating the civilians of _Shiganshina_. Right now, our goal is to protect the civilians."

"What about the city itself?" asked Levi, stepping forward.

"I do not know," replied Keith, rubbing the bridge of his nose in an attempt to quell his growing headache. "Though as much as I hate to admit it… _Shiganshina_ is lost…"

* * *

 **A few minutes prior in the outside**

The outside world which laid beyond _Shiganshina_ was usually considered an empty wasteland covered by countless trees, constantly patrolled by Titans ranging from three metres to the larger fifteen. No human with even a small degree of self preservation or even basic intelligence had dared to venture out into the outside, unless they were a _Survey Corp_ , anyways.

However, on this day, there was… something else in this wasteland. Somewhere in a small, dense forest which was situated relatively closed to the Walls of _Shiganshina_ , the unit which was designated the _Gundam Barbatos_ by most people who knew it, and the _Mechanical Titan_ by Hanji, was kneeling down silently. There was no sign of life in it, with it's glassy, unemotional eyes and unmoving stature. The lights on its knees and chest which usually glowed pink were now blank, signaling that it was inactive.

However, it wasn't the only thing which was 'inactive' at the moment. Within its chest, or perhaps its 'heart', was the boy whom most referred to as Mikazuki Augus, the Ace pilot of _Tekkadan_ and the current and quite possibly the last pilot of the **ASW-G-08 F6** _Gundam Barbatos_. Currently, the boy was asleep in the cockpit of the _Barbatos_ , his _Alaya Vijnana_ unplugged from his _Mobile Suit_ portand with his _Tekkadan_ jacket, something he brought with him in the Edmonton battle just because, draped over his body like a makeshift blanket.

Hours prior, Mika had tailed the adults back to where they had came from. It was surprisingly easy, considering how they never noticed _Barbatos_ despite the fact that the thrusters were rather loud and the power symbols on the knees/chest stood out a lot in the dark night. He tailed the group for about three hours, watching as they regrouped with several other groups of adults and, surprisingly, teenagers, before they had returned to an… impressive structure at dawn.

It was a Wall… of sorts, just as he had predicted, ironically enough. Perhaps around fifty metres in height, the thing dwarfed any mobile suit he's seen in his time. The only thing which was not smaller than it was the _Isabiri_ , or any other _Armour Assault Spaceship_ in that case as they routinely reached the length of three hundred metres. Mika had observed the thing from about three to five hundred metres away, and it didn't take much brain-power for him to consider the 'Wall' to be a good place to take residence in… if not for a rather crucial problem.

The first thing he considered was that the people here weren't exactly friendly towards the larger humans, mainly because the large ones seemed only interested in killing the smaller ones. And, while he didn't care about causing an uproar, Mika knew that if he just barged in, there was a chance that he would not be able to get _Barbatos_ in there as, most likely at the first sight of it, the residents of the Walls would possibly go crazy and try to 'hunt' him and his _Gundam_ down. And, while they wouldn't be much more than a nuisance, Mika prefered for them to not know about his MS.

His original plan was to just get the leap _Barbatos_ in as he was at least sixty percent sure that it could easily leap well over fifty metres when assisted by all seven thrusters, mainly because it was still dark out and he could perhaps sneak his MS into the place while shielded by the darkness, but the fact that he felt worn out from the battle with the _Ein_ , alongside the fact that humans tended to get tired at night, made him change his mind and decide to go to sleep and think about the plan the next day. And, unfortunately, his plan had hit a snag almost immediately in the morning, when a massive flash of lightning near the Wall had woke him up.

It took him about a minute to fully open his eyes. And, unfortunately, right when he managed to open them, a rather major tremor had apparently hit this place, as _Barbatos_ , a thirty ton or so _Mobile Suit_ , had been sent flying at least a metre into the air, though it thankfully didn't topple over, but it did jerk Mika upward a little and shaking him to his bones. That sudden rattle shook him up quite a bit, but not enough to distract him from the smoke coming from where the Walls were at.

And Mika only silently cursed softly as he realized what this would most likely mean.

"This can't end well…"

* * *

 **Before you say it, yes. I did kinda rush this chapter. Please don't kill me.**

 **Alright, in all honesty, this is the definition of a filler episode. Just something here to pad the running time. Hopefully it's alright… hopefully.**

 **I don't really have much else to say, aside from telling you guys that I got a new story up. I ain't telling you what it is, because of reasons, but it's IBO related, so there's that.**

 **Anyways, I don't have anything else to say, so… onto replies?**

* * *

 **Yorha: well here ya go**

 **Ulydace: hoorah. And I guess I did over explain it, but I'm a paranoid bastard. Hopefully that ain't bad… hopefully.**

* * *

 **Anyways it's one in the morning. I should get to bed… see ya**


	5. Fall of Maria

In all her years of being a _Survey Corp_ , Hanji had never dream, let alone even _think_ , that she'd live to see this day.

The lady thought that she'd be long dead before she would be able to see the Walls which had protected them for close to a hundred years be broken down like a pile of blocks. Eaten by a Titan, perhaps. Or, as Levi would usually say, accidentally fall off the side of the Walls, which she has admittedly _almost_ done so on numerous occasions, only saved by her maneuver gear or people who were able to grab her fast enough.

However, here she was, alive, and clearly not hallucinating as she had pinched herself multiple times in the arms and cheeks to make sure she was wide awake and ready for a rumble, standing on the very top of Wall _Maria_ , the only thing which separated the intruding Titans from the inside of _Maria_ alongside Erwin, who was standing to her left, Levi to her right, Moblit right behind her and at least half a dozen other _Survey Corps_ and _Garrison_ behind and beside them.

Though it was not necessarily easy to see, Hanji was feeling internally upset. No… upset was putting it lightly. She was quite literally fuming internally, up to the point where her face ended up turning almost cartoonishly red, something both Levi and Erwin noted, prompting the tall blonde man to take a small step away from her while the shorter one directed his gaze towards the lady.

"What's wrong _this_ time?" asked Levi, his tone so neutral that it sounded as though he was unconcerned with the breach of _Shiganshina_. Though that slight fidgety movement in his hands and the occasional twitch of his eyes told her otherwise. "We're prepping for a counterattack. We can't have our tactician break down _now_ of all times."

For a moment, Hanji considered not telling him, but she then considered multiple ways that decision could backfire. Such as Levi pondering that question during a fight and getting killed, or him asking questions during combat (despite knowing that it would never happen).

Still, despite Levi not necessarily treating Hanji as one, the two were still friends, bffs for the lack of a better term. And friends never, well not never, kept secrets from one another. So, letting her moral code override her logic, Hanji decided to abide by her friendship guidelines which she herself laid out and enforced, she spoke up.

"It's just… ya know," she began as the final few members of the _Garrison_ and _Survey Corps_ finished gathering beside them. As they did, Hanji turned to her side, where a _Survey_ _Corp_ stood stoically. He did his best to keep himself from shivering and to keep his expression neutral, and while he was successful for the most part, his shoulders did twitch every so often as his lip quivered as though a small earthquake was taking place on it. "Well… aside from the Titans invading _Shiganshina_ … most of our comrades… _Survey Corps_ at least… come from _Shiganshina_.

"And… while I know I might possibly never know how it feels… I can certainly imagine how it feels to lose a home. To be… forcefully driven out of the place you grew up in or stay and face a horrible death. That, and there are obvious other reasons as to why I'd be mad… like us losing a district to the Titans… and how we'll end up having to cram more people into _Maria_.

"And I haven't even _mentioned_ how this ruins our formation travel routes, _perfected_ -"

"I wouldn't consider them perfect," pointed out Levi, considering how nothing could technically be considered perfect.

"Oh shush, you get my point," retorted Hanji with a look of mock annoyance, though it was quickly replaced by an uncharacteristically stern look as she continued. "But what would this do to our years of careful planning…? All those carefully crafted strategies… the formation routes and whatnot… they're now all for nothing… and I haven't even mentioned how this makes the people from other districts feel less safe and-"

"Probably time for you to shut your trap," cut off Levi, partly because he was getting tired of Hanji's uncharacteristically depressing ramblings, and also partly because the commander of _both_ the _Garrison_ and _Survey Corps_ for this mission, Keith Shadis himself, was walking up in front of both military groups.

While some of the _Garrison_ did not consider Keith to be good or worthy enough to lead them, as they knew that Keith was the one who was mostly responsible for dooming so many lives on the expeditions to the outside, pretty much everyone else knew the reason as to why he was chosen over generally more charismatic members such as _Dot Pixis_ , commander of the _Garrison_ , and that was for his combat experience, something even the great Pixis lacked.

Even if Pixis was chosen for the job, the old man would not have accepted it. Hell, if he was even asked of it, Pixis would have given whoever asked him the question his usual old man smile which only he had perfected before he replied with a rather simple statement: " _Ah, I would accept the job… but I'm afraid that these old bones of mine can't support myself when it comes to Maneuver Gear battle… so why not choose Keith for the job you have for me?"_.

Sure, Pixis might not reply that way, but Levi has seen him do so enough times to convince him that he would do so again. And, while it may have been an old man joke, or a lie to keep him alive, Hanji did somewhat agree that Pixis didn't exactly seem like the type to fight with the maneuver gear… or any kind of battle honestly.

When Keith got in front of the crowd, it took them a short while to quiet down, perhaps because they were still extremely nervous about the breach, which seemed to be the most likely reason. But once they calmed down, not by much, but enough to hear Keith out, they turned to the man, awaiting his orders. For a short while, Keith stayed silent, arms behind his back as he looked at his fellow soldiers, as though he was already regretting the deaths which will occur in the upcoming mission.

"Fellow soldiers," began Keith after some time. The man was definitely trying his best to sound calm, most likely intending to try and get his soldiers to be less nervous than they were now. It didn't really help at all, honestly. But that didn't stop him from taking in a deep breath to try and suppress his nervousness before continuing. "As you can see… today marks what one could consider humanity's darkest hour…"

That was something they could all agree on, as today marked the day where the walls were first breached, something which was considered to be just as bad as the coming of the devil himself. Perhaps worse, if one were to ask a Wall Cultist, as they considered the Walls to be their Gods. And a breach, no matter the size, was considered to be a sign of, in their words, 'the demons of the outside infiltrating their safe haven'.

Most of the _Garrison_ have feared this day for the majority of their careers, even those who manage to convince themselves that such a thing would never happen, despite having trained for such a day for at least three years. As for the _Survey Corps_ , they had a similar mindset to the _Garrison_ , but to a lesser extent as they knew that nothing was impossible, and their Walls, no matter how strong they were, would someday fall, though they presumed that it would be because of poor maintenance instead of what most considered to be a sixty metre Titan.

"HOWEVER!" continued Keith, his thundering voice cutting straight through the air itself and making every last one of the soldiers before him straighten themselves up in attention. Even Hanji felt a jolt go up her spine when Keith's voice boomed out, and it only intensified when she saw the harsh glare Keith was sending their way. And, evidently, everyone else around her was feeling the same, evident by the fact that she could see a small bead of sweat slide down Erwin's forehead and hear Levi gulping a tad.

"Despite the odds being heavily stacked _against_ us," continued Keith, his rock hard tone not faltering even for a second. "We must _not_ forget what our seniors have taught us to do if the Walls were to ever be breached! Our top priority is to evacuate _all_ residents of _Shiganshina_ at all costs! AM I UNDERSTOOD?!"

"YES SIR!" proclaimed the soldiers who stood before him. With a satisfied nod, Keith went on to group the _Garrison_ and _Survey Corps_. Each group was assigned with a different task, such as the evacuation of civilians or the extremely unhealthy mission of keeping the Titans away from those who couldn't defend themselves.

Hanji found herself grouped alongside, unsurprisingly, Levi, leading a team of about twenty _Survey Corps_ and _Garrison_ , including Sys, who decided that his job was currently more important than recovering in the medical center, Moblit, who was already close to a panic attack, and Flex, though Levi doubt the graffiti artist could do much good on the battlefield. Still, it was better than nothing.

"Well, commander," was the first thing Flex said as she marched up to Levi. As she approached, Levi noted that her dark red scarf was flowing furiously through the wind, threatening to fly off into the distance if given the opportunity. "What are your orders?"

For a moment, Levi stayed silent, all while the other soldiers dispersed around him, charging into battle or to evacuate civilians. He then looked back at his own team, considering his next course of action, before replying. "We're going into the battlefield."

He swore he heard one of his teammates softly curse under his breath when he issued his order, though he promptly ignored it, instead turning his attention to the breach in _Shiganshina_ , where the first few Titans were slowly but surely tromping into the city, intending to consume the first human they see.

"Wait… you mean out there?" asked a _Garrison_ , making Levi turn to glare at her. The glare made the girl shrink down to about half her size. However, Levi simply shook his head as he glared, eyes rolling in their sockets. The _Garrison_ were next to unreliable in this mission. Their inexperience in the battlefield and lack of actual need to engage in combat meant that they were more likely to be killed than their _Survey Corp_ acquaintances. That said, they didn't exactly have a choice as if they fled, they'd be branded as traitors to the Military Brigades as they willingly and knowingly allowed the Titans to attack their homeland.

"Yes, Yui," said Levi, diverting his gaze away from 'Yui' and back down to the breach. "We will be the first line of soldier defence against the Titans. Unless any of you have something against that thought."

Glaring at all those under his command, Levi was satisfied to hear that no one objected to his plans. So, with a firm nod, he turned to the battlefield before taking a step back. The _Garrison_ tilted their heads in confusion at what he was doing, but the _Survey Corps_ of the group didn't seem to notice. Still confused, the _Garrison_ were about to ask their _Survey Corp_ counterparts what Levi was doing, until the short Corp Captain made a mad dash towards the edge of _Maria_ and took a massive leap straight off it.

"Captain!" proclaimed a _Garrison_ , rushing to the edge to get a view of where Levi was headed towards, but he only widened his eyes when he saw that he was alright, perched on the edge of a building and looking up at them. While the _Garrison_ simply watch, dumbfounded, the Corps shook their heads before they themselves took massive leaps off _Maria_. As they did, Hanji found herself chuckling softly.

"You guys are definitely not used to that," she concluded with a chuckle as she herself dive bombed off _Maria_ , with Sys following suit and Moblit reluctantly doing the same. Once Moblit took his leap, it left only the _Garrison_ to follow suit, though most seemed reluctant despite being trained in taking leaps of faith off the Walls. The first to take the leap was, unsurprisingly, Flex, who was known to be among the more fearless _Garrison_ members. And, eventually, they all got to ground level, even if it took some time.

"Took you long enough, mis amigos," said Sys, both arms crossed and with a small smirk on his face, his mocking tone making most of the _Garrison's_ faces turned slightly red in embarrassment. But they refocused on the task at hand when Levi gave an order for them to get going.

Straight towards the breach, where Titans were pouring into _Shiganshina_ by the dozens.

Though as they went along, Hanji secretly wondered if they would see the _Mechanical Titan_ during this slight conundrum as well. It was unlikely, but the impossible tended to be a normal thing in these places.

* * *

 **Meanwhile**

For a short moment, Mikazuki found himself temporarily stunned as he sat in the cockpit of _Barbatos_ , standing at the very edge of the breach in ' _Shiganshina_ '.

What he saw through his MS' optical units, while not necessarily the worse thing he's witnessed, was definitely unnerving to say the least. Enough to temporarily paralyse him, anyways.

About an hour, or less, ago, Mikazuki had piloted his MS towards where the smoke had come from, the massive fifty metre Wall he presumed to be _Shiganshina_. The first thing he noticed was that, as the smoke cleared from the Wall, a massive dent now graced the side of the Wall, and Mika could vaguely make out that the breach seemed to have what appeared to be a door frame at its top, making him think that the breach used to be a gate of some sorts.

The other thing he noticed was that there were at least half a dozen 'Titans' wobbling into the breach. Strangely, however, the cannons which were situated on the top of _Shiganshina_ were, or at least seemed to be, unmanned, leading Augus to assume that they had either run out of ammo or had tried to shoot those 'Titans' before deciding that there were too many to blast away. Though Mika couldn't think of any other way aside from the cannons to fight these giant human things, unless one was insane anyways.

Since the cannons were currently unmanned and, from what he could see, there was no one up top to spot his MS, Mika decided to use this breach to his advantage and zipped _Barbatos_ into the Wall, knocking down, mainly by accident, multiple Titans as he did.

The first thing he saw when he peaked in through the still dissipating smoke of the breach was that there was yet another Wall right in front of the one which was breached. This one was just as tall as the one which had a hole in it, with the only difference being the strange face carved on the top of the door. There were also some oddly old fashioned buildings. Built mainly out of wood and plain bricks, things which Mika only saw in the small town of _Chryse_ , buildings which usually housed those who were considered poor and expendable. Strangely enough, the group of adults were not visible to Mika, though he suspected that they were in some sort of base, considering how they seemed to be soldiers of sorts.

And the second thing which he saw, and the thing which made him freeze up for a moment, was only seen by him after he heard a nearby scream from _Barbatos'_ audio receptors, a scream that was quickly cut off, coming somewhere from his _Mobile Suit's_ left. Turning the head unit of his MS, he expected someone to be screaming at his MS, but all he saw was a Titan, perhaps three or nine metres in height, gripping an adult in it's hand… or hands. Both of its hands were wrapped around the body of the adult, and the way they were position told Mika that the Titan had _broken the adult in half with it's bare hands_.

The sight of that made Mika internally shiver as his insides twisted with the same feeling he felt back when he saved the other group of adults in the outside; the oddly uncharacteristic feeling of sympathy build up in his chest. However, even he wasn't prepared for what he saw next.

Seemingly with little to no effort, the Titan ripped the corpse of the adult in half, sending blood and guts out of the top and bottom halves of the poor deceased man, even if some strings of organs were still attached to each other, stringing the two halves together. Despite that, the Titan seemed to not care. Instead, it moved the halves of the deceased adult towards its mouth… and _ate_ it.

One bite was all it took to consume the entire top half of the dead man, and the same applied to the bottom. When it was done, the Titan began to wobble off to wherever it intended to go towards, leaving Mikazuki staring at it, mouth slightly agape and eyes a little wide.

Despite having seen some rather fucked up shit in his younger days, and him committing a lot as well, such as him killing what used to be his former commander or willingly offing the former _Brewer_ ace pilot as revenge for Akihiro's brother, even seeing the death of an old, chubby friend, Mika would admit that what he just saw was perhaps one of the most gruesome things he's seen in his youth.

For a long moment, Mika simply sat in the cockpit silently, his back against the cockpit seat of his MS, with _Barbatos_ equally silent and unmoving as he let what he just saw sink into his brain. It took some time, but once it got into his mind, Mika found himself feeling weird. It was that strange feeling in his stomach… that odd feeling of sympathy.

Sympathy, mixed with a pinch of confusion and anger. The boy felt confused at why he felt that large tang of sympathy, accompanied by some uncharacteristic anger. In truth, he had felt angry for a long time, ever since he found out that he couldn't contact _Tekkadan_ , though he had managed to suppress it. However, seeing the things… 'Titans', who were eating humans, had added a small amount of extra unwanted emotion onto it, _almost_ making himsnap.

The boy shook his head rather violently, effectively ridding himself of that strange feeling of anger, at least for a few seconds anyways. However, while it was gone, he was able to make up an impromptu plan for himself. Looking to the Wall in front of him, he quickly made out that his first course of action was to try and scale it. How he would do so was a question he decided to save for later.

However, before he could put his plan into action, that strange feeling of sympathy tugged at him once more. It annoyed him to no end, and despite how hard he tried, the feeling would not go away.

' _What is this feeling…'_ thought Mika as he momentarily zoned out, ignoring the distant screams of several adults being consumed and the sound of a small, five metre class Titan waddling towards him. Instead, he took his hand off the control stick off the _Barbatos_ and stared at it uncertainty.

He saw that his hand was shaking, and he clenched his fist tightly to mitigate that, and he grimaced as the five metre Titan clung onto _Barbatos'_ leg unit and tried biting into it. The boy still ignored it as he grit his teeth mildly, utterly confused as to why he was feeling this way. Perhaps it was because of his confusion, or because of his pent up frustration, but Mika suddenly turned his attention down to the Titan which was trying to injure _Barbatos_ and stared at it with diluted irises.

And within a few seconds, Mika regripped the control units and lifted the leg of his MS. the Titan clung on at first, but _Barbatos'_ manipulator was able to pry it off before lifting it up to optic/eye level.

After a quick glare at the Titan, Mika clamped the manipulator of his _Gundam_ shut, crushing the head of the four metre with very little effort before tossing the dissolving body aside like a ragdoll.

His mind was foggy at the moment, a mess of confusion and anger, among many others. He needed a way to vent out everything he felt, and at the moment, there was only one way he could vent it all out.

* * *

 **Elsewhere**

"YOU FOOL! WHAT ARE YOU AIMING AT?!"

Flinching in fear at his commander's tone, a _Garrison_ soldier hastily reloaded the cannon both he and a partner were using. As he loaded the cannonball into the stationary weapon, the _Garrison_ bit his tongue to force himself to not retort. His partner, on the other hand, blurted out, "B-But sir! We can't hit moving targets like _these_ with these cannons!"

Turning almost instantly to glare at the sharp tongued soldier, the commanding officer quite literally roared at the man. "Gah! WHO CARES?!" he proclaimed, narrowing his eyes at his _Garrison_ underling. "Just load another round into the cannon and take aim! We **cannot** allow them to get past the Miracle Mile!"

The _Garrison_ gave a sharp nod in reply as they hastily loaded another round into the cannon to defend the 'Miracle Mile'. It was a strange name, as least to most of the less experienced soldiers. It was used to describe the area which was about a hundred kilometers away from each of the gates from all directions except behind. Hanji had once suggested it be called the Miracle Kilometer, but Pixis said that Miracle Mile had a better ring to it.

Currently, about six cannons were stationed somewhere halfway in the Miracle Mile. All cannons were aimed straight ahead, each manned by at least two _Garrison_ and at most four. They would have worried about the Titans coming at them from the sides, but the _Survey Corps_ had them covered on that front. That, and they could always take up arms and defend themselves if needed. The _Garrison_ group was led by a senior who manned the middle cannon while the _Survey Corps_ , on the other hand, were led by two different commanders based on where they were, though the group closest to them was led by Levi.

And, for whatever reason, the gate to _Maria_ was left open, most likely to allow civilians to evacuate on foot.

"U-Understood!" proclaimed the _Garrison_ as they finished loading the shot and let it fly, just barely striking a four metre, taking out both it's head and part of it's torso as the cannonball blasted straight through it and impacted a (hopefully) abandoned house. Grinning victoriously a little as they shot it, they reloaded the cannon as quickly as they could, but the group didn't note a ten metre Titan charging straight at them until it was about twenty metres away from the cannon pair who were the closest to the left.

The two _Garrison_ reacted too slowly, only managing to unsheathe their blades to retaliate, though by then the Titan was about fifteen metres away. Even if they had speed rivaling a bullet, they would not be able to react fast enough to counter.

However, thankfully for them, a blur came straight past the Titan's nape, slicing deeply into it. The Titan went down right as it's nape was sliced, dropping onto its stomach and skidding to a stop about half a metre in front of the two _Garrison_ cannon manners. The one who just saved their asses landed on a nearby building, and it was then where they realized that the person was no _Survey Corp_ , but a fellow _Garrison_ , standing on the building with her red scarf tied extra tightly around her neck as she swung her blood stained blade dramatically to the side.

Smiling in relief at their fellow _Garrison_ , one of the two raised his arm to give a wave, probably the best he could do to repay her. "We appreciate that, Flex!"

"Don't mention it," said Flex modestly as she saluted with her blade before dashing back to regroup with her fellow soldiers. As she did, the _Garrison_ she saved went back to work, reloading their cannon before taking another shot at an incoming Titan.

For a few minutes, the _Garrison_ and _Survey Corps_ held the line with everything they had. After some time, a blue flare went soaring up into the sky towards the eastern zone of _Shiganshina_. Looking up at it, the commander of the group gave a firm nod.

"The eastern side of _Shiganshina_ is fully evacuated," announced the commander with a small, slightly satisfied smirk. "Now we just need to-"

Before the commander could even finish his statement, however, a loud, almost ear splitting sound which was reminiscent of metal scraping against metal blasted from behind them, causing both _Survey Corp_ and _Garrison_ to freeze in their tracks and turn towards the gates of _Maria_ , only to see it sliding down, with all of them on the wrong side of the Wall.

"W-What the…?!" proclaimed a _Garrison_ as he subconsciously turned on a dime and dashed towards the closing gates. Several other soldiers followed suit, driven by the fear of being stuck out here and being eaten, leaving only the bravest of their group to face the upcoming wave of Titans. "THEY'RE CLOSING THE GATES WITHOUT US?!"

Despite his ever growing fear, however, the _Garrison_ who commanded the squadron did not turn and flee. Instead, he, alongside a handful of other soldiers who were brave enough to make a stand, forced themselves to stand their ground and man their cannons. Hastily, the commander lifted a cannonball up, an act which required all the power in his arms and torso, and loaded it into the cannon he was manning. Once that was done, he fired the cannon, and his loaded shell hit a three metre Titan square in the torso. He would have felt victorious, if the growing feeling of dread had not threatened to overwhelm him.

To his sides, at least three to five other _Garrison_ were lying down suppressive fire, with the other ten or so running away like the cowards a certain Jaeger had called them. However, undaunted by their lack of manpower, the remaining _Garrison_ did their best to load the fifty kilogram cannonballs into the cannons and blasted every Titan in their sightlines as best as they could, though only about one third of all the blasts actually manage to connect.

On his third cannon shot, however, the _Garrison_ who stayed behind felt the earth shake below them, strong enough to make the cannons shake a tad and nearly knocking one of them off their supports. For a moment, the commander of the group wondered if someone had misfired a cannonball into the ground by accident, but a quick look around made him realize that there were no misfires, making him wonder… what exactly made that minor tremor?

His answer, unfortunately, came all too soon when the tremor came up again, and when he whirled back around towards where the cannons were aiming at, and he, along with his fellow _Garrison_ , widened their eyes at what they saw came stomping out from behind a still intact building.

Standing at fifteen metres, the absolute limit of Titans, or at least what it used to be as it was beaten by the sixty metre which was just seen and even the 18.8 metre seen mere hours ago, the Titan would not have looked out of place among the others, if it didn't have what appeared to be bony plates of armour on its body.

Of course, there were other reasons which suggested that the fifteen metre was more abnormal than most, such as how it stood up straighter when compared to others. Or perhaps it was because it was slowly crouching down as though it were preparing to sprint.

The Titan was so strange that it even made the fleeing _Garrison_ stop in their tracks to stare at it in bewilderment, though not for long as they eventually whirled back around and sprinted towards the gates, leaving the remaining _Garrison_ to deal with this new threat alone.

"What the…" muttered one of the _Garrison_ as the Titan crouched down, sounding somewhere between shocked and horrified. And it only increased when the Titan shot forward like an athlete on steroids, dashing straight at the _Garrison_ cannon blockade. "What is it doing?!"

"It doesn't matter!" exclaimed the commander as he got ready to let lose another shot. "BLAST IT!"

"YES SIR!" replied the others as the commander let his shot fly. The shot hit the Titan straight in the chest, making him pump his fist victoriously, only for that feeling of victory to slip away when the smoke settled, revealing that the fifteen metre was still intact. Even worse, it had not stopped it's charge, seeming entirely unphased by the cannonshot.

Two more shots were thrown at it, both to no avail as the Titan's 'armour' had protected it from them. It didn't even seemed cracked in the slightest.

Once they realized that the shots worked as well as trying to fight a Titan with their bare hands, the remaining _Garrison_ realized that fleeing the battlefield, towards the closing gates of _Maria_ , was their last option as if they stayed out here, they would most certainly be trampled, or, even worse, eaten.

So, spinning on their heels, the _Garrison_ charged towards the gates of _Maria_ as fast as their legs would carry them, with the new… _Armoured_ Titan hot on their heels. The commander, realizing that they would most definitely not make it, bellowed out his final command.

"HURRY!" he proclaimed, eyes wide as his legs burned with exhaustion. "THE TITANS ARE COMING! CLOSE THE GATES! CLOSE THE GA-"

* * *

 **Elsewhere**

The sound of a massive explosion had torn Hanji's attention away from the battle she was attending at hand.

Currently, both she and the other members of her team were at least two kilometers away from the _Garrison_ cannon blockade, though Flex and a couple of other _Garrison_ had stayed a little closer to them for varied reasons. Team Levi was tasked with being the vanguard of the east evacuation center, and, at least in the eastern sector of _Shiganshina_ , they had the highest kill count thus far, with no deaths on their team to boot.

Kicking off the nape of a twelve metre Titan and landing on a building, both she and Moblit turned towards where they suspected the explosion to have come from, the Wall of _Maria_. Adjusting her glasses a tad, Hanji narrowed her eyes behind them, though it was more or less for dramatic effect as she could tell what she was looking at.

Smoke. Smoke was slowly being sent up into the air at the very edge of the gate to _Maria_. For a moment, Hanji thought, or prayed, that the smoke came from a cannon which had internally combusted. But after some time, the smoke slowly dissipated, proving what Hanji had feared for a short time.

"Hanji, Qué pasa?" came Sys' voice from her side, and Hanji turned just in time to see the man in question land behind her. The man was sweating rather intensely, though he still looked rather cheary despite their current predicament, even if that expression did seem forced.

"Well…" replied Hanji, sounding concerned and a tad furious at the same time. Raising up a sword wielding arm, the woman pointed at the clearing smoke with the tip of her blade, and the other two Corps around her widened their eyes in fear. "We may have a bigger problem on our hands now…"

* * *

 **Back at the new breach**

The smoke was thicker than anything the _Garrison_ had seen.

After the _Garrison_ had witness _Maria_ get broken down like nobody's business, a commander had sent a team down to investigate the breach and to check if anyone had survived the 'Armoured' Titan's charge. A quarter of the group had moved to check on the cannon squad, hoping beyond hope that there was at least one survivor while the other half and a quarter had moved to check in on the Armoured Titan's location.

Despite being very hesitant, the _Garrison_ charged straight into the smoke which had been shot up into the air when the gate was broken. One of them had said that it was a dumb idea, but he was ignored, as the leader of the group was, unfortunately, a junior hotshot.

For a moment, the group zipped through the smoke, seeing practically nothing inside as they went through. Though after about a second, something which was most likely the arm of the fifteen metre Titan came swinging right at them. The arm barely missed a _Garrison_ , but it connected with their commander, who had not seen it until it was too late. The strike reduced him into nothing more than a fine red paste.

"Kio!" proclaimed a _Garrison_ behind the commander who was completely pulverised, though she quickly regained focus when another arm was sent towards her, prompting her to take evasive action. She managed to dodge most of the arm, but her foot rammed directly into it's wrist, and the momentum and impact force completely fractured it, sending her spiraling out of control.

Thankfully for her, however, a fellow _Garrison_ had snatched her out of the air before she hit terra firma. As for the others who were still intact and in the air, they latched onto the side of _Maria_ so that they could get a closer look at the 'Armoured' Titan as the smoke cleared. And, as they were not running for their lives, at the moment, the _Garrison_ could more clearly discern what it looked like.

Aside from the bony plated of armour, they noted that it had blonde hair, something rare among Titans as their hair was almost always black in colour for whatever reason. A more observant member of the team also noted that there appeared to be flesh under the plates of armour. He relayed that fact to another member in their team, the one who took up leadership after Kio had met his rather anticlimactic end.

"If it has flesh, then it means that we can kill it…" muttered the new leader of the group, unsheathing a blade as the other members of his team feared what he was about to suggest as he turned towards the boy who was still holding the girl with the fractured leg. "Doru, get Liz out of here. The rest of you…"

"I was worried you'd say that," admitted a _Garrison_ , effectively cutting the commander off as he kicked off the Wall and sprung towards the Titan.

" _Bratt_! Wait!" proclaimed the commander as 'Bratt' launched towards the armoured Titan, aiming for a small gap between the armour segments of the nape. However, the poor junior thought that he was able to strike the nape through the small gap between the 'armour', something which he didn't manage to do, with both his blades shattering on impact instead hitting the small gap between the armoured nape of the Titan.

Widening his eyes as his blades shattered on impact, Bratt immediately shot a wire away from the Titan, though he wasn't fast enough to avoid getting smacked by the palm of the Titan. On impact, the palm reduced him to a fine, red mist. His fellow _Garrison_ were shocked to see their comrade dispatched so easily, but they got over their shock quickly as the Titan shot another fist at them.

The remaining five _Garrison_ circled the Titan several times, looking for a potential weak spot an an opening to strike them. Unfortunately, they could not spot any, and even if they could, the 'Armoured' Titan gave them no time to strike, keeping them on their toes as they tried to weed out a weak point.

And suddenly, a female _Garrison_ swung in. Gritting her teeth, she narrowed her eyes as she zoned in on a small, practically unnoticeable gap in the armour which protected the back of the Titan's knee. She got up close and swung her blades, and by some miracle, she managed to nick it.

The Titan gave a groan as it's knee buckled a little, though it didn't take too long for it to turn towards the female and swing its arm at her. The _Garrison_ , still recovering from the attack, was able to avoid most the strike, though her left shin was hit by the 'Armoured' Titan's finger.

Screaming, the _Garrison_ was sent flying towards the Wall, the pain clouding her mind and stopping her from recovering. Thankfully, the new leader of the team managed to snatch her out of the air before she became a red stain on the Wall. The commander latched onto the Wall, well out of reach of the 'Armoured' Titan.

"You alright?" asked the _Garrison_ , and the female grimaced at him.

"Do I **look** alright, sir?" she snarled at him, and the one who held her turned his attention to her left shin, wincing when he realized that it was most likely pulverised by now.

"N-No, you don't," replied her commander as another _Garrison_ latched himself next to the commander. He had a slick layer of sweat on his forehead as he replaced his blades.

"Commander, please tell me you got a plan," pleaded the soldier as he turned to his senior, who grumbled.

"Well, there's a small plan which I've got," muttered the commander uneasily as he grimaced. "We hold this thing off until the actual _Survey Corps_ get here."

"...so we're bait for now?" muttered the uneasy _Garrison_ , pointing at the 'Armoured' Titan with the tip of his blade. The commander nodded.

"Got a better idea?" asked the female _Garrison_ that the commander was holding onto. She winced in pain as her commander turned to look at her, unintentionally shaking her pulverised leg as he did. "Just get me out of here, please?"

"I know, maam. But…" muttered the commander, and he was cut off when a blur burst into the fray, heading straight for the 'Armoured' Titan. The blur whizzed past its shoulder, and, unexpectedly, the 'Armoured' Titan recoiled and held its shoulder.

After the deed was done, the blur latched itself against Wall _Maria_ , not too far from the three _Garrison_ soldiers, and showed itself to be none other than Levi Ackerman, who, despite being up against an 'Armoured' Titan, still remained impressively neutral.

"Commander," began Levi, not even turning to the _Garrison_ as he spoke. "Get your team to fall back. We'll handle this."

"Roger!" exclaimed the _Garrison_ commander without hesitation as he gave the order to retreat, leaving Levi and his team to fend off the 'Armoured' Titan.

"AAAAAAAH!" came a yell not too long after, prompting everyone, including the Titan, whose shoulder had regenerated by now, to turn to the hole in the Wall and spot Hanji, eyes wide and mouth agape as she and the remaining _Survey Corps_ / _Garrison_ boosted in. "THAT TITAN… _**LOOKS VERY INTERESTING!**_ "

Upon hearing this, the Titan in question seemed to twitch its eye before launching a fist at them, though unlike their _Garrison_ companions, the _Survey Corps_ managed to dodge the strike. As for Levi, he closed his eyes for a moment, sighed, before reopening them.

"I hate this job."

* * *

 **A couple minutes ago**

Pushing _Barbatos'_ arm controllers down, Mika swung his MS' Wrench Mace downwards onto a five metre Titan. The impact had not only demolished the Titan it, but it had also driven the Mace at least a quarter of a metre into the ground.

Despite that, however, Augus managed to pull it out with little to no trouble and swing it towards an approaching Titan, fifteen metres in height. The fifteen metre came charging at _Barbatos_ from behind, and even if it bothered to, it wouldn't even have time to dodge a powerful roundabout swing with the Wrench Mace. The strike decimated it's entire torso, causing it to explode into a massive explosion of gore and Titan guts.

With that done, Mika adjusted _Barbatos'_ grip on the Wrench Mace and held it upside down before slamming it's 'snout' into the ground, denting it ever so slightly. Inside the cockpit, Mika was massaging both of his hands as he tried to rid them of the aching they were experiencing, something which only happened when he was fighting an MS with a pilot who could rival his skills.

However, this was the first time where his wrists, fingers and, to a certain extent, elbows, were aching not because the opposition was a real bitch to destroy, but because of the amount of them there were. For every single Titan he had pulverised, another would pop up to fill it's shoes. It was truly quantity over quality for this battle.

As he massaged his hands, Augus sighed and closed his eyes. For the past hour or so, he has been wiping the floor with these Titans. They stood no chance against him to say the least. During this time, Mika did admittedly begin to feel more like himself, letting his odd moment of confusion and anger (among other odd emotions) fade away as he slaughtered the large

However, in between the 'stress relief', Mika had also put some thought about that Wall he was intending to infiltrate, something he never put too much thought into when he had just entered the place. He didn't necessarily think too much on it, but he did reason that trying to leap into the Wall in broad daylight was… not necessarily a smart move to say the least. The broad daylight might have been able to allow _Barbatos_ to be less visible… kinda, but Mika doubted that he could evade detection from the soldiers who were stationed on top of the Walls.

So, he decided that he would basically fight it out until the sun had fully set, when the moon had some out to replace it, before he scaled the Wall. It was an odd plan, but then again, it was his only one.

However, as his strange luck would have it, the boy felt the earth shake from below _Barbatos'_ leg units, nearly strong enough to knock his MS off its feet, but thankfully it stayed upright, even if Mika was shaken up just a little by the sudden quake. The boy recovered quickly, groaning in annoyance as he regained his somewhat lost marbles.

"What is it with this place and tremors…" grumbled the boy, a question directed at no one in particular as he turned his MS towards where he assumed it originated from, and only found himself internally sighing as he saw some smoke coming from what used to be the gate of the other Wall.

"I hate this place."

* * *

Zipping around the Armoured Titan as fast as their maneuver gear would take them, 'Team Levi' made a point to move around as much as possible while the newly discovered Titan swung at them as though it were trying to hit a fly, which wasn't exactly an inaccurate description of the Corps at the moment.

With a rather graceful, and logic defying, backflip, Levi narrowly dodged a swing from the arm of the Armoured Titan and attempted to take a stab at the armour between its upper and lower arm. The strike had just barely missed, his blades instead scraping against the plates which protected the flesh of the fifteen metre. Thankfully, for the most part, his blades were not broken… yet.

Following up from Levi, another Corp attempted a slice at the waist of the Titan after noting a rather noticeable gap there. However, before he could even take a swing, the Titan grabbed the man in it's armoured hand before giving him a proper squeeze, making him implode in an explosion of blood and gore.

" _Gilhart_!" proclaimed a _Garrison_ as she kicked off the side of _Maria_ , about to launch herself towards the Armoured Titan, only to have the fist of the fifteen metre slam it's fist straight into the poor lady, denting the Wall as she was crushed between the fist and Wall.

"This is going to Hell real fast…" muttered Flex as she watched yet another one of her fellow soldiers killed, eyes wide and a grimace on her face. Beside her, Sys gave a firm nod.

"Sí," he agreed in his native tongue as he gripped his blades a tad tighter while he lamented the events which had occurred in the past few minutes. This Titan… it wasn't like the others. If anything, it was like that 18.8 metre class Titan which they had encountered outside mere hours ago. It seemed to react as fast as a regular human, perhaps even faster, able to counter everything they had thrown at it with little to no effort, as least from what they could see anyways. If anything, both this and the 18.8 metre Titans were like Abnormals on some serious steroids.

And, unfortunately, at least half of their team was obliterated by the Titan's hand. Even their top pair of soldiers, Levi and Hanji, couldn't effectively get close enough to even hurt it before they had to dodge a strike. Hell, the Titan could even handle both of them at once, at one point it even countered a tag team strike which Hanji had suggested she and Levi perform, nearly killing the former as it did.

"Sys, snap out of it, dammit!" came Hanji's voice as she whizzed past the man in question, making Sys yelp softly as she blasted straight at the fifteen metre. Of course, the Titan saw her coming from even three miles away, swinging it's arm at her. Hanji didn't evade, at least until the very last minute, where she just barely dodged the arm by a hair's length, nearly causing Moblit to have a heart attack in the process. The Titan seemed caught off guard by that, giving Hanji enough time to move in close and land a strike in between the plates on its face, right between the cheek and chin armour plates.

The strike seemed to hurt the Titan enough to make it let out an angered roar, making a few recoil at the sudden and unexpected noise. Hanji was even pushed back by that roar, somehow, and was forced to fall back.

However, there was something the _Survey Corps_ and _Garrison_ had forgotten about in the rather grueling fight, and it was a very important something. Gas for their maneuver gear.

The battle had costed them a lot of gas, with some using more of it than others, primarily the _Survey Corps_ , who moved around even more than their _Garrison_ peers and thus used much more gas than their Wall Menders. And even then, some Corps used more gas than others, namely the two Elites, Hanji and Levi.

While Levi did move much more sporadically than Hanji did, moving in zig zags and using some rather over the top maneuvers, he used his gas rather sparingly, in short, strong bursts of which, while simple in concept, was able to propel Levi forward in his endless onslaught while conserving as much as it as possible. Hanji, on the other hand, moved less intensely than her friend did, moving in more simple ways and using equally simple maneuvers, but she ended up using more gas as, instead of short, strong bursts, the lady used long, strong streams of gas to propel herself onwards.

As a result of that, Hanji's gas supply had drained itself a lot more than Levi. And as both her usually strange luck would have it, Hanji's gas supply had run out right at the moment where she had launched away from the Titan, sending her flying backwards. She had tried to activate her gear, but she was only greeted by her maneuver gear controller's clicks and the actual gear running on empty.

"Fucks sake," grumbled Hanji as she fell, though thankfully, a fellow Corp had snatched her out of the air before she even got close to the ground. The Corp who had just saved her skin latched himself against the Wall of _Maria_ , holding Hanji in a bridal-esc fashion. If it were anyone else, Hanji wouldn't say anything more than a quick thanks, but the fact that her savoir was Levi changed that, making her face go a subtle shade of red.

"You alright, Foureyes?" asked Levi, sounding neutral as he kept himself latched against the Wall. Hanji didn't have the voice to reply, so she just nodded. Levi seemed to be ready to reply with something else, but the Armoured Titan whirling around to face them cut him off. The Titan's eyes seemed to burn with rage as it pulled back an arm, ready to smash it straight into Levi and Hanji, before it blasted forward at an impressive speed, too quick for Levi to dodge.

Time seemed to slow to a standstill as Levi and Hanji watched the fist close in on them, their depressingly short and painful lives flashing quickly before their eyes, Hanji's first Titan kill, the day Erwin invited Levi into the _Survey Corps_ , the first time the two of them were paired up together, the warm fuzzy feelings both felt when fighting together.

And, for whatever reason, there was a strange noise in the background of their memories. It wasn't just Sys, Moblit and several others shouting out their names as they blasted towards them at full speed in an attempt to save them. It was vaguely familiar, something all of them had heard mere hours ago.

Suddenly, when the fist was almost two metres away from the pair, a vaguely familiar piece of scrap metal came into view and wrapped itself around the arm of the Titan like a vice. The piece of scrap stopped the fist dead in the air, effectively saving Levi and Hanji's lives.

Despite their pounding hearts, both Levi and Hanji managed to tear their gaze away from the fist which was nearly an arm length away from them and turned to face the piece of scap… a familiar piece of scrap, still damaged with a strange 'sword' in the 'snout' of the 'weapon'.

And, despite their current situation, Hanji managed to flash a shaky smile when he saw the one who was holding the 'weapon'.

"How convenient…"

* * *

Holding the Wrench Mace with both of _Barbatos'_ arm units, Mika clamped down on the Titan's arm with the force of a hydraulic press. The force the Wrench asserted was so intense that it stopped it's fist cold as it was launching a punch.

When Mika had seen what was most likely a new breach in the inner Wall, he had went forward to investigate it out of natural curiosity. There, right in front of the breach and outside of the smoke, he saw what appeared to be the remains of six medieval-esc cannons lined up in a defensive formation. The four which were lined up in the middle seemed to be trampled by something while the two which were by the sides looked relatively untouched.

Mika also noted several bodies on the ground. Most were dead, some were still alive, though just barely. Mika, while he did feel a little guilty for doing so, had disregarded them and made his way into the Wall through the breach, only to see several familiar, green jacket wearing, human figures who were somehow flying, attempting to down a fifteen metre Titan.

Zooming in on the scene, Mika observed the conflict for a few seconds in a somewhat curious way. Despite himself, the boy couldn't help but feel uncharastically bad for the group. They were doing their best to take it down, but were clearly having no luck in doing so. The boy allowed himself to since slightly when he saw the Titan crush another soldier in its fist.

"This is going to Hell fast!" exclaimed a familiar voice, though Mika didn't exactly pay it much mind as he grimaced. The desperation in that voice made the boy feel an odd… sensation in his stomach as he gripped the control sticks of his _Gundam_ tightly. It reminded him of how he was back in the day, a defenseless child who had little to no way to protect himself.

He only had Orga back then to advise him, but aside from him, the boy was practically left to fend for himself. The desperation in voice which he heard reminded him a lot of how it felt back then, the feeling of defencelessness, of being desperate for someone to protect him.

Subconsciously, the boy began moving _Barbatos_ forward. One step, two step, three, then four… until the _Gundam_ began boosting towards the Titan which, by now, was launching a fist at two soldiers latched onto the Wall. The boy lashed the Wrench Mace out at the Titan's forearm, and with very little effort, he clamped the jaws of the Mace around the Titan's forearm and stopped it dead in the air.

While he kept the Titan in place, Mika heard several gasps from the other soldiers who were still alive. He did feel a small amount of pride at that, but he quickly dismissed it before he shifted _Barbatos'_ footing and swung both the Wrench Mace and the Titan it was still holding towards the Wall, slamming the Titan into the Wall, cracking it rather immensely and coughing up a ton of dust.

The shockwave of the impact caused several of the soldiers to get pushed back and for the arm of the Titan get ripped straight off its socket. With that done, Mika shifted the _Barbatos'_ grip on the Wrench Mace, releasing the severed arm from its jaws and holding it with both manipulators to prepare it for a follow up attack. It wasn't necessary, but Mika had learnt in the past that someone should never assume that an enemy was dead just because they got a fatal strike in. For all he knew, that 'Titan' could have just shrugged that attack as though it were nothing.

So, just in case, Mika positioned _Barbatos_ with its legs spread out and the Wrench Mace held firmly in its grip, ready to counter an attack.

Watching in silence, the _Survey Corps_ and _Garrison_ felt their heartbeat increase in fear as the ' _Mechanical Titan_ ' stood silently in a position which seemed to resemble a defensive stance, perhaps expecting the Armoured Titan to come out of the smoke and attack.

As it did, the soldiers swung themselves onto ground level as Hanji's request. Though the _Garrison_ were reluctant, Hanji managed to goad them into following, ignoring their concerns on limited gas as she looked up at the _Mechanical Titan_ , more focused on it than on the she was on the dissipating smoke which clouded the Armoured Titan.

Thankfully for them, when the smoke dissipated, it revealed the body of the Armoured Titan lying on its side, lifeless and unmoving. Upon seeing that, the _Survey Corps_ and _Garrison_ relaxed a little, _just a little_ though, as they had another potential problem right in front of them.

When it saw that the Armoured Titan was (possibly) dead, the _Mechanical Titan_ seem dropped it's defensive stance, lowering it's weapon and slamming the top half into the ground like a staff before straightening itself. Now that it wasn't dark and as they were not in an exactly dire situation, Hanji could see more clearly what the 18.8 metre Titan looked like.

The woman already knew most of the basics in regards to what the Titan looked like as, even in the darkness, she could make out the major details on the thing, much as the predominantly white armour, grey 'skeleton' and several pipes coloured gold, silver and bronze, though she could now see the amount of mechanical detail on the thing much more clearly.

Panel lines adorned the Titan's dirty, dented 'armour', panel lines which seemed too advanced to be developed naturally, reinforcing Hanji's theory that this was not a naturally developed Titan. Other things she noticed were that the fingers of the Titan were sharpened to the point where they almost resembled claws and that the thing seemed to rock some strange high heel esc feet.

However, as she was watching the Titan with intense curiosity, she was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't notice the _Mechanical Titan_ turning around and diverted it's green, piercing eyes towards them. The other soldiers took several steps back in fear, even Levi.

Hanji, on the other hand, seemed to be ready to say something, but she was cut off when a loud boom could be heard from above the Walls. When it came up, the _Mechanical Titan_ whirled around and swung it's 'weapon' in an upwards motion, knocking a cannonball fired at it right out of the air before it hit it's designated target. Turning their heads upwards, the _Survey Corps_ and _Garrison_ , and even the _Mechanical Titan_ itself, saw at least ten soldiers manning a pair of Wall mounted cannons, both aimed at the Titan.

"HEY, WHADDYA THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" exclaimed Hanji at the very top of her lungs, making everyone turn to stare at her, even the _Mechanical Titan_. Though their attention was torn away from her when another shot was fired at the Titan. This time, the Titan leapt to the side, dodging the shot which landed about twenty metres away from the soldier group. And even from here, Sys could tell that the apparent commander of the _Garrison_ group up top was giving his soldiers a good scolding for nearly killing their fellow soldiers, and he was so preoccupied with it that he completely forgot about the _Mechanical Titan_ which had, by now, moved well out of the range of the cannons.

Turning to look at her, Flex noted that Hanji seemed just a little angry… and that was putting it lightly. A part of her was fearful that Hanji would just take off on her own and chase the _Mechanical Titan_ on her own. Thankfully, Levi got the bespectacled woman's attention by giving her a solid thump on the head.

"Hanji, we're falling back," he ordered, narrowing his eyes at her.

"But the _Mechanical_ _Titan_ …!" retorted Hanji.

"We'll worry about the _Mecánico Titan_ later, Hanji," said Sys, right when the first Titan entered _Maria_ through the hole in the Wall. "For now, we must warn the residents of _María_ and evacuate!"

Opening her mouth, Hanji was about to retort, but reconsidered it. It took her awhile, but with a sigh, Hanji gave a reluctant nod.

"But my maneuver gear…" she pointed out, looking at her fellow soldiers.

"Someone's gonna have to carry you," suggested a _Survey Corp_ , looking rather cheeky and suggestive as she positioned his hands on his hips, though he took a step back when Moblit gave him a glare which told him that if he even _dared_ touch her, he would pay dearly. "Of course… not me… hehah…"

"Whatever," grumbled Hanji, sounding annoyed as she shook her head. Turning to Levi, she gave a suggestive shrug, and Levi pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Fine," he said, sheathing his blades and cracking his knuckles. "But just this once, Hanji."

* * *

 **A couple of kilometres away**

Mika made sure that _Barbatos_ was well away from the cannons before he stopped boosting it.

Slamming the feet units into the floor and making some rather deep indents in the ground as it did, _Barbatos_ stood itself up and turned back to face the breach it had entered. Inside the cockpit, Mika cursed silently. However, his mood lightened up ever so slightly when he saw yet another Wall within the newly breached one, so much so that he briefly forgot about his slight emotional moment back there.

Looking up into the sky, Mika noted that the sky was slowly getting dark. It was good, considering how he had originally planned on infiltrating the Wall in the dark of night. However, he had a feeling that he would need to eat or drink something soon.

Rubbing his chin, Mika bent forward on the cockpit chair and groped the space which was under the monitor. There, he found his _Tekkadan_ jacket and his pistol. His jacket was sprawled on the 'floor' of the cockpit, and the pistol was stuck against the bottom of the monitor via a makeshift pistol holder. There were no extra clips for the pistol, only the one which was loaded inside it.

Picking up his jacket, Mika felt around it and slipped his hand into the left pocket, only to smile when he felt his hand wrap around his main raisin stash. It wasn't much, but it was good enough to last him for a few hours.

Sliding a hand into his stash, Mika pulled a medium sized raisin out and popped it into his mouth. And, despite being a dried grape, it still had enough juice inside of it to last him a few hours.

As he ate it, Mika felt something knock the leg unit of _Barbatos_. Turning his MS down to face it, he saw a five metre Titan knocking against his MS' leg, trying to bite into it.

With a disgusted huff, Mika placed his raisin bag back into the jacket pocket and turned to face the Titan. Crouching down, Mika got _Barbatos_ to pick it up via it's head, lifting it up to optic level so that he could have a closer look at it.

"Disgusting," muttered Mika, and with a swift motion, he jerked _Barbatos'_ arm unit to the side, inadvertently getting it to sidearm toss the Titan straight into the breached Wall, denting it slightly.

* * *

 ***checks the calendar* 58 days since I updated this story… sheesh.**

 **Anyways, yes, as I had just said, it's been (more or less) 58 days since I updated this story… last year. So… erm… sorry bout that. I was just a little busy with real life, like school and… school. That's kinda all.**

 **Oh, and now my school is now 1770 minutes per week, or 29.5 hours per week. It used to be 1530 minutes / 25.5 hours long. Just letting you know. And it's not counting my extra lessons after school. And people wonder why I despise school.**

 **Oh, and bullies. I'm also a prime target for bullies. So there's that.**

 **Let's move onto more positive shit… like** _ **Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth; Hacker's Memory**_ **. That game is good. Oh, and I got some Gunpla projects coming up, and I'm gonna be getting back into drawing stuff. Yeah… I need a new hobby.**

 **Anyways, onto the replies.**

* * *

 **Glasses Writer: Why thank you. Though I don't find it to be much better than the older one**

 **HyperExia: ah shucks, you're making me blush :3**

* * *

 **Alright, now… erm… I don't really have much else to say. So… see ya? I'll be on Elsword of Left 4 Dead 2… probably the former as I needa get Chung up so that he can become a Centurion.**

 **DESTROYER, GIVE ME POWER!**


	6. Carolina

**East Sector of Trost, sometime near midnight**

 _Trost_ , and to a more drastic extent _Shiganshina_ (when it was still up anyways) was, in short, not the most popular place in the twelve (now eight after the Fall of Maria) districts which the Walls of _Maria_ , _Rose_ and _Sina_ held.

Situated on the southernmost side of the Walls, the two south districts were known to be the two hottest districts of them all. _Ehrich_ , _Sina's_ southern district, wasn't as hot as it was situated closer to the middle. Often times than not, the temperatures would soar up to about ninety to eighty degrees, and on one recorded instance even went up to 104.5 degrees, though that was quite a long time ago and was a one time incident.

Because of these rather hot climates, most from _Rose_ / _Maria_ (again, when it was still up) or any districts within it generally avoided _Trost/Shiganshina_ , especially the eastern regions of the District as they were infamously hotter than the other areas.

There were other reasons for the eastern sector being abandoned. Many superstitious residents claimed to hear the screams of _Garrison_ who fell clumsily off the walls and, more recently, the voices of soldiers who fell during the Fall of _Maria_. They were rather wild claims, but they were prevalent enough to keep people away from the region, if the sun hadn't done it already.

Somewhere at the east region of _Trost_ , there stood a small barn. The thing used to belong to a rather experienced farmer who passed on five years prior due to old age, something amazingly uncommon in any region outside of _Sina_. Since then, the barn was left on it's own. There were plans made by the _Garrison_ to tear it down, but they decided that it wasn't worth it, mainly thanks to the scorching heat and overall reputation of the area it was located in. So, the military left it as it was to slowly rot away.

However, the barn was much sturdier than they had anticipated, surviving for the five years of rain, heat, occasional flooding and windy days since it's abandonment. No one had really turned to look at it more than once as it wasn't what anyone would consider interesting. But it's rather uninteresting look and rather inconvenient location made it the perfect place to use as a hideaway for any kind of criminal or random person looking to be alone (if it wasn't so hot), and eventually it was used as such, though not by a regular resident of the Walls.

Instead, it was used to house what could arguably be considered the strongest weapon within the Walls, the **ASW-G-08/F6** , _Gundam Barbatos Form Six_ , while serving as a 'home' for it's pilot, Mikazuki Augus.

Currently, Mikazuki was sitting right in front of _Barbatos_ , his back resting against the knee armour of his unit. And right in front of the boy was a small fire, just barely lighting up the admittedly large barn's interior. Augus had created the fire not too long ago with some loose pieces of wood he pried off the walls and by crashing two rocks together until the sparks ignited the wood, an old technique he learnt back when _Tekkadan_ was still CGS.

After he had created the flame, an admittedly small one, Mika had sat in front of it, his _Tekkadan_ jacket draped around him like a makeshift blanket. He was as silent as always and his expression was neutral, but inside his labyrinth of a mind, the boy was still feeling mixed emotions towards his current dilemma.

' _How long has it been?'_ he thought, staring up through the huge hole in the roof of the barn, up at the night sky rather wistfully. The sky of this earth looked so… beautiful. Much better than the sky from the earth he knew back on his earth anyways. _'Three days…?'_

Mika wasn't exactly too off course from the actual amount of time where he had been stuck here. In actuality, he had been here for _five quarters_ out of the seven days in a week, if one were to include the night where he had first landed on the planet and the Fall of _Maria_. Though to give him some credit, if he were to be extremely exact and count how many days he's been _inside_ the district of _Trost_ , he had been here for more or less three days.

It was rather safe to say that these three days were considered to be the worst days of his life, and the boy has seen some properly bad stuff in his youth, including the death of many casual acquaintances/friends from _Tekkadan_ and, on one occasion, a pedophile who nearly got to Takaki. However, he had a feeling that this one topped them all, just narrowly beating that pedophile incident as at least with that, Mika had stopped the bastard before he got through. And at least back then, he still had a family… unlike now.

Yes, the fact that he was on another planet seemed rather trivial to him when compared to his biggest issue, his lack of camaraderie. Over the past years of what Mika would consider to be his childhood, the boy had no form of camaraderie outside of whatever friends he had in CGS/ _Tekkadan_. In his eyes, anyone from his group, be it new members or old comrades, with the exception of the CGS First Group (minus Dexter), were at least a friend, and at best, family. They were the only ones he could speak to freely and the only ones he could trust.

And now, they were gone. Lightyears away from him… perhaps even dead. What their current condition was, he will most likely never know, though he hoped that they were all right. He wondered if they were mourning his supposed death. It was likely, but he hoped not. He especially hoped that Orga didn't take his disappearance too hard as he still needed to lead _Tekkadan_ down the path he had envisioned for it.

Rather abruptly, Mika violently shook his head. No… he shouldn't be dwelling on such thoughts. Remembering such things will only distract him. He had no way of turning back time, no way to change what had happened, and he could only move on and try to survive.

Heh… survive. Just thinking that word make Mika chuckle as he rested his hand on an object beside him, his pistol, a gift from Orga. wrapping his fingers around it, Mika raised it up to his cheek and felt the cold 'body' of the gun against it. It was one of his only remaining reminders of home, a gift from Orga himself. And, rather ironically, he had nearly used it to end his own life just two days ago, right after he had infiltrated the Wall of _Trost_ and found this conveniently placed and abandoned barn…

* * *

 **Three days prior**

 _It was dark, perhaps a little darker than Mika was used to, at least on (his) Earth._

 _Perhaps it was because this planet which looked exactly like earth was a little darker at night, or because of how high the moon was up… or perhaps it was because he was standing right underneath the massive eastern Wall of_ Maria _. Whatever the reasoning was, Mika held little care for it as it kept him out of view. Not from the Titans as they seemed to be able to smell him or something, but from the humans._

 _Yes, rather paradoxically, Mika was not hiding at all from the Titans, but from the humans who called themselves '_ Garrison _' and '_ Survey Corps _', strange names to Mika._

 _The boy knew that if he was spotted by any one of those soldiers, they would at the very least keep a_ very _close eye on him, and at worse attack him, which wouldn't be too bad as Mika knew that_ Barbatos _could withstand whatever they threw at it. But he knew that if they kept a close eye on him, it would ruin all chances of him being able to enter the Wall which was at the northern side of_ Maria _. He had heard several soldiers call it_ Trost _, so he decided to call it that from then on._

 _A couple of hours ago, right after he had rather unexpectedly saved that group of soldiers, with the ever familiar face which belonged to the bespectacled lady whom, if he remembered correctly, was named Hanji Zoe and the sour faced man whom he suspected to be this 'Levi' he kept hearing on his local comm links. Straight after that, some awkwardly silent staring between human and_ Mobile Suit _, and after knocking out and dodging two cannonballs, Mika had made his way to the eastern side of_ Maria _, though he did stray a little away from the breached wall so that he could reduce the risk of being seen by those atop the Walls, only stopping when he situated_ Barbatos _in a rather impressively sized grove of trees.._

 _Once he was certain that he was out of the cannon's range and out of the sight of the soldiers atop both the breached and unbreached Walls could not see his_ Mobile Suit _, Augus had stopped moving his MS. Looking back the way he came, he could very vaguely make out that the cannons were now aiming away from_ Barbatos _, instead aiming downwards, outside the Walls to perhaps blast oncoming Titans. He was rather thankful that they were not aiming for him as, despite him doubting that the cannon shots would have heavily damaged his_ Gundam _, they could at least damage it to some extent. The soldiers seemed to have their hands full with either defending the fleeing residents of_ Shiganshina _/_ Maria _, meaning that at the moment, Mikazuki was off the soldiers radar._

 _Still, Mika knelt_ Barbatos _down to reduce the chance of being discovered and dimmed the lights in the optics and power symbols on the chest and knees. With that done, Mika turned his attention towards the top of the unbreached Wall which was due north. It looked exactly like it's breached counterparts, with a massive gate smacked at the center of a fifty metre tall Wall. At first, he did think against infiltrating the Wall, seeing as how two of them were breached within a day. But he then considered that being inside the confines of a Wall which could be breached at any moment was probably better than striding out on his own._

 _Once he came to terms with that, Augus, rather quickly, formed a simple yet effective plan on how he'd get over that huge Wall. it was more or less similar to his original plan of infiltrating_ Maria _before it was breached. He had intended on waiting till nightfall and, using the power of all the thrusters and pistons in_ Barbatos' _legs, leap his entire MS straight over the Wall of_ Trost _. Now that he thought of it, he realized that he had never leapt_ Barbatos _that high up in the air before, but he was pretty confident that his_ Gundam _could make the jump._

 _From where he knelt his MS, Mika could vaguely see the top of_ Trost _. It seemed as though the south and west sides were rather heavily guarded, with cannons being manned by several_ Garrison _. The east side, however, to Mika's surprise, was guarded only be a few soldiers, all spaced out pretty randomly. Mika knew that he could use it to his advantage when night fell as some of the soldiers were spaced out far enough to let_ Barbatos _leap by them without much issue. Though he would definitely have to wait for nightfall first as attempting to leap a 18.8 metre tall mecha in the morning wasn't exactly smart, even to Augus._

 _So, after unplugging himself from_ Barbatos _, Mika waited. And he waited. And he waited some more, until the sky went dark. During that time, Mika was rather surprised to find that no human had wandered over to where he was, by accident or intentionally. Several Titans did find their way to him, but Mika dealt with them swiftly._

 _When he wasn't flicking oncoming Titans to the side with a flick of_ Barbatos' _manipulators, however, Mika would wondering about the possibility of him being on a different planet. It seemed preposterous, something out of a bad story written by an ametuer writer, but he could rule it out as, at the moment, anything seemed to be possible, at least from what he's seen. Mika didn't dwell on those thoughts, however. He could be in an entirely different part of earth, for all he knew._

 _Aside from that rather preposterous thought, Mika's mind lingered on that emotional moment he had just hours prior. It confused him as, up till now, he was able to keep his emotions under wraps despite the many ludicrous situations he has found himself in. him having an emotional episode now, in a foreign land and away from any issue which involved his old friends, was odd to say the least. The boy kept pondering this but had no answer to his question, and even when the sun had set and he began to enact his plan, he still had no idea why._

 _Finally, after a few boring hours of waiting, the sun had finally sunk over the edge of the world, replaced with the moon, a full moon this time. Mika was admittedly a little bummed when he saw it, as he always preferred the crescent moon over the full for rather obvious reasons, but he didn't dwell too much on it. He did, however, take five minutes to stare up at it before he made his way towards_ Trost _._

 _Mika stopped_ Barbatos _when it was about a hundred metres away from the Wall. He had decided to jump over the east sector, which, by now, seemed to be completely free of_ Garrison _, though he could still hear some barking orders over to the western side via his local comm links. Deciding to use the sudden desertion of the east side to his distraction, Mika crouched_ Barbatos _down and activated the thrusters. The blue plasma-like flames emitted from them slowly grew in size and power, and before long, they were ready for action._

 _Propelled by the joint forces of the seven thrusters and the many pistons within his_ Gundam _, Mikazuki sprung both him and_ Barbatos _up into the air, leaving twin_ Barbatos _-sized indents on the ground as they did. As he expected,_ Barbatos _made the jump… perhaps a little too well as it was launched close to seventy metres up into the air, just a little too high. To slow his descent, Mika activated the thrusters of his MS which did their job. His descent was slowed down dramatically, but the impact still shook Mika up to some extent, all while it created a shockwave which shook all of_ Trost _and launched several thousand pieces of dirt into the air._

 _After he had recovered from that rather jarring impact, Mika shook his head and looked around, and he was rather relieved when he saw that_ Barbatos _had landed in a grassy plain. Through his_ Mobile Suit's _optics, he saw no human close to him, at least within a hundred metres, anyways. Despite being rather secluded, however, Mika decided against standing_ Barbatos _up to its full height to reduce the chances of him being found._

" _The fuck was that?!" came a voice from not too far off, prompting Mika to turn_ Barbatos _upwards to investigate. Zooming in on the top of the Wall, he noted that a small group of soldiers were staring at his landing point. Deciding to not wait around to be found, the boy immediately got his unit to move._

 _With the grace of a typhoon, Mika snuck_ Barbatos _through the forested eastern confines of_ Trost _, keeping MS low to the ground as he moved it. He wondered if he should just leave_ Barbatos _in a massive grove of trees, but he decided against it. Leaving his MS in a random place was not a smart move, even to Mika, as anyone could come across it by accident. No, he needed a structure… hopefully big enough to conceal_ Barbatos _. It was unlikely that he'd find one, but he decided to not lose hope so soon._

 _After some time, Mika found what he was looking for. It was a rather large structure, perhaps twenty metres tall and wide, somewhat resembling a barn. It looked somewhat rotten through, with it's wooden walls looking as though they could break apart at any moment. Despite that, Mika thought it looked rather sturdy, and it was more than capable of containing_ Barbatos _._

 _Standing his_ Gundam _up to its full extent, Mika just barely saw that there was a fairly large hole on the top of the barn, large enough for_ Barbatos _to go through without much effort. Deciding to use it as his temporary hideout, Augus crouched his MS down a tad before springing it up and in through the hole. Amazingly,_ Barbatos _managed to get in with the greatest of ease. Once_ Barbatos _was in, Mika positioned it in a kneeling position with both it's weapons by its side._

* * *

Mika remembered trying to contact _Tekkadan_ with the comm-links back then. He spent hours upon hours trying his best to establish some kind of link with his friends, his family. He never gave up hope on the idea that he may very well just be in a different part of earth, simply miles away from them, close enough to reunite with his companions. However, by the time midnight came by, Mika had given up on contacting _Tekkadan_. Every one of his fifty or so attempts to contact them had ended in him getting the message of _no signal_ on _Barbatos'_ cockpit monitor, and by the time he gave up, Augus had more or less believed that he was on a seperate bloody planet.

His initial reaction to being stuck in another planet, one which was similar, yet so different, from his own was to take a look at his gun, his rather sizable pistol, gifted to him by Orga. It was rather obvious what he was thinking of, to end it all with a single bullet. The gun currently held twelve bullets, each able to at least heavily dent a piece of metal, more than enough to punch a hole into the skull of a human.

For the briefest moment, he had considered it. Part of him thought that it was better to die than live on some mirror variation of Earth than to be stuck hundreds of miles away from _Tekkadan_ , so far from his family. However, he then thought of what Orga would tell him to do. Would his old friend, practically a brother, agree to him putting a bullet through his skull, or would he tell Mika to try his best to survive in spite of his predicament? It was a rather simple answer, evidence by the fact that he was still alive.

Once he had come to terms with the fact that he'd be trying to survive on a planet which was essentially a carbon copy of a planet he knew very little of, with the only difference between it being those Titan things, Mika felt that it was necessary to at least know what his new… 'home' was like. So, on the next day, he went out to have a look around _Trost_ , at least the eastern districts of the place.

Augus wasn't exactly surprised by the lack of people living in the eastern district. The sun there seemed to be enough to boil someone's blood in a metaphorical sense. Mika, on the other hand, knew how to resist it. After all, he's faced much hotter temperatures in his lifetime. Though, admittedly, Mika did feel hot enough to not bring his jacket on the walk. He never bothered to hide his _Alaya Vijnana_ systems from anyone. Besides, no one really noticed anyways, and those who did didn't comment on it, even if some of the younger lads did point towards it out on occasion.

In his walk around _Trost_ , Mika saw nothing noteworthy. At best, the old-timey aesthetic of the district, at least the parts he's seen so far, reminded him of _Chryse_ , with houses that were similar in size to those found in his old home, and possible birthplace, _Mars_. The houses had their brick walls held up by wooden supports and what seemed to be roofs made out of hay. The stores were also similar, with moderately sized stores selling food items, mostly bread, or some poorly made dolls. It gave him a mild sense of nostalgia, though. So that was something.

In the middle of his walk, Mika had come across a rather sizable crowd. It seemed to be at least three times bigger than the entirety of _Tekkadan_ , at least it looked that way. It didn't take much for Mika to guess that they were what remained of the residents _Shiganshina_ / _Maria_ district/wall. If he were honest, it seemed rather small as he suspected that the huge group before him was at best one quarter of every resident from the breached walls.

At first, when Mika saw them, he paid them no mind. But he then noticed that the refugees were being handed free pieces of bread, and that was what caught his eye. Mika knew that he wouldn't be able to get any food, not without stealing, which would be a little difficult as he had never stolen much, even before he got into CGS. He also wasn't exactly good at working for money to buy food, as all the jobs he's seen thus far had something to do with selling stuff, something he had almost no experience in.

So, deciding to take his chances, Mika joined the crowd of refugees. And, to his surprise, he was actually mistaken for a refugee of _Shiganshina_ / _Trost_. Either that or the soldiers who handed the bread out, the _Garrison_ at he heard they were called, couldn't tell if he was a refugee or not, meaning he could simply walk up to them and grab a piece of bread without much more than a glance from those soldiers.

The piece of bread which he had taken looked stale, but at least it looked edible and didn't seem moldy, at least from what he saw. Thankfully, when he took a bite, he found no mould inside. It did taste dry, however, sucking up all the water in his mouth. He rectified that by popping a raisin into his mouth and letting the little juice it still had rehydrate him. He managed to finish the piece of bread in five bites.

While he was eating it, however, Mika had lingered around the refugee site for some time. The boy had chosen to stand a good distance away from the crowd, but he also found himself relatively close to a pair of soldiers. From where he stood, Mika could overhear a small conversation between the two. The first quarter and a half of their conversation didn't interest Mika in the slightest, but the last quarter had caught his attention.

It was a small conversation relating to the refugees. They did speak a little about them, but it was usually them complaining on why they were here. Now, however, they were speaking about what they would possibly do to them. They spoke relatively silently, but Mika could hear them pretty well. They were speaking of possibly carting the expendable refugees, which Mika presumed to be the old or the disabled, to try and retake the Walls of _Shiganshina_ or _Maria_. It was the worse idea Mika had heard in a very long time.

As for those who were not expendable, which Mika assumed to be the moderately healthy or strong refugees, would most likely to be sent to the western side of _Trost_ to tend to what the _Garrison_ had dubbed the fields. Mika also overheard that those without identity papers which linked them to _Trost_ , or those with no papers at all, had to either work in the fields or march to their deaths.

Mika wondered if he would be bundled up with those who had no identity papers as, well, he didn't have any. Part of him didn't wish for that to happen, but the other thought the opposite as Mika, admittedly, wouldn't mind working in a field. After all, the boy did always want to start a farm of his own. That, and he was curious as to what a farm could actually grow, as his only experiences with with farm growths was corn.

On his second day here and just several hours ago, Mika further explored _Trost_ , spending a solid thirty hours in total doing nothing more than walk around the district. He memorized the place to the best of his abilities and capped off both his long walks off by going to grab a piece of bread from the refugee site, one of which he was currently eating.

As the boy ate, he wondered what _Tekkadan_ was currently doing. He knew that, if _Tekkadan_ were still operational, Orga wouldn't be that happy despite their victory. But he was rather curious on how the others took his disappearance. If he were someone else, he would have just assumed himself to be dead. He suspected the others did too. Whether they were lamenting his death or not was another topic all in itself. A select few would definitely lament his absence, but several others may not.

However, the one person whom he was worried about, perhaps just as much or even more than Orga, was Atra. He didn't know why, but he got a strange feeling in his stomach just by thinking about the little pink haired girl feeling sad about his disappearance. It just didn't seem right to him. Despite him never speaking of it, she was immensely important to him, important enough that he had stormed a building with armed, official guards just to save her. Little Atra was precious to her… and he never got the chance to tell her that.

As he sat there, thinking about the little girl, Mika felt a small, wet object slide down his cheek, trailing down onto his chin. At first, he thought it was raining, but he soon realized that he was wrong as rain would have a higher chance of striking the top of his head instead of his cheek. Confused, he rubbed his eye, only to realize that he was _crying_.

Weird, Mika never knew how it felt to cry, or at least he didn't remember when was the last time he did so. All he really knew was that it felt weird, feeling those droplets slowly slide down his cheeks, and strangely comforting too. He didn't know why, exactly. Perhaps it was because he thought of _Tekkadan_ and it triggered the response? He suspected that to be the reason. Or perhaps he was just accepting one rather cruel fact.

' _I'll be dying here. Alone,'_ thought Mika, as he raised his head upwards, looking at the night sky. And, despite his rather unexpected tears and his current situation, however, Mika managed a small smile.

' _But at least you guys can have a chance at living the way you want…'_

* * *

 **Several days later**

Mika did suspect that this day would come, but he never expected for it to be here so quickly.

Not long after Mika had arrived in _Trost_ , roughly two days ago, he and at least a hundred refugees from _Shiganshina_ and _Maria_ were tending to the fields of the district. Despite the horrid weather, Mika brought along his _Tekkadan_ jacket for no apparent reason. While the other refugees grumbled at the prospect of working in the field, with nothing more than a stale piece of bread as their 'income', Mika was rather content with what he was doing.

Despite being a child soldier for a majority of his life, Mika's real dream was to eventually become a farmer… a weird goal but he didn't really care about it. The teen did have experience with farming thanks to the fact that _Sakura Pretzel_ , an acquaintance of his, owned a farm. He worked there on occasion, and it was probably there where his interest in farming blossomed.

When they were first carted off to the fields, the refugees who were tasked with tending to them were split up into various groups of differing sizes. Mika got a small group comprised of at most thirty people, mostly children. He made no effort to interact with any of them, and none of them seemed to try anyways, most likely because his expression would send a chill up their spine so cold that it'd threaten to freeze it.

By his third day on the fields, Mika was more or less used to the experience. Planting and tending to them wasn't exactly hard, and his 'income' was pretty serviceable, one and a half pieces of stale bread in exchange for about twelve hours of service seemed to be fair trade for Mika, that and he got free lunch, typically more bread or a baked potato, so he didn't exactly complain.

During his breaks, Mika would busy himself with thoughts about _Tekkadan_ while he ate pieces of stale bread. If he wasn't thinking about his family, Mika would be wondering if anyone had accidentally stumbled upon _Barbatos_. It was unlikely, but not impossible.

Currently, Mika was on his own, secluded from his designated field group, with his only 'company' being a black haired girl who lingered near him, unrooting a couple of carrots which were most likely planted weeks before. As he unrooted them, Mika still couldn't shake his surprise at realizing that these things were edible. All he knew about them was that they were the noses of snowmen, not that they were edible. Still, he did his best to ignore his surprise and toss the carrots into a small sack which was provided to him.

Right after he tossed it, however, Mika heard a relatively soft yelp from behind him. Acting on instinct, Augus whirled around and sprung his arm out, inadvertently wrapping his fingers around a small wrist. It took him awhile to realize that he had just saved a person from falling onto their back, most likely thanks to the rather muddy ground they were on. And it took him a little longer to realize that the person he saved was none other than the black haired girl whom lingered close to him.

The girl whom he saved seemed to take a moment to process what was going on, and when she did, her cheeks almost instantly turned a soft shade of red. Mika, on the other hand, kept his expression neutral as he hauled her back upwards. When she was up, Mika got a quick yet good look at her.

She had thick, black hair which was tied up into twin ponytails that were slung over her shoulders, twin light grey eyes, and a height and face which told Mika that she was about ten to twelve years old, even if she was almost as tall as him, if not an inch taller. She wore a long sleeved teal blouse and a grey shirt.

He didn't exactly care if she was alright, but he decided that it wouldn't hurt to ask.

"Are you alright?" asked Mika as he turned away from the girl, crouching to unroot another carrot. Though when he did, he missed the rather goofy smile on the girl's face as she replied.

"Y-Yeah! I'm f-f-fine!" she said, tripping over her words as Mika stood up, holding a decently sized carrot in his hands. He didn't intend on answering, but he did give an acknowledging grunt in response. Once that was done, Mika expected her to move on and leave him alone, but to his mild surprise, she lingered around, making him occasionally turn to glance at her. She seemed to notice, as she kept tensing up whenever he looked her way, though to her credit, she did smile and wave at him in response to his constant glances.

After few awkward moments of silence, the girl seemed to gather up all her courage and finally speak up. "Erm… so…" she began, making Mika turn to look at her straight up. "What's your name?"

Well that was unexpected. In Mika's experience, only new members of CGS, before it became known as _Tekkadan_ , and Kudelia would ask for his name. Everyone else seemed content to call him a Rat. So to hear this girl, a complete stranger, ask for his name was definitely somewhat surprising. And apparently it was so surprising that Mika froze for a second, as he didn't notice the girl waving her hand in front of his face for quite some time. "Hey… you alright there?"

Shaking his head a little, Mika blank to get himself out his minor trance before nodding. "...yeah," he replied, before looking at the girl, considering if he should tell her. It wasn't a hard choice, as his name literally had no meaning in this place. No one knew he piloted _Barbatos_ , so giving out his name wouldn't affect him in the slightest. So, with no real hesitation, he answered her. "...Mikazuki, Mikazuki Augus."

"Nice name," said the girl with a large smile and no trace of sarcasm, making Mika believe that she actually meant what she said. He was pulled out of his thoughts rather abruptly when the girl placed both hands on her hips in a dramatic fashion as she responded. "Call me Mina, Mina Carolina!"

Mina Carolina, it was a simple name, one which Mika wouldn't find much difficulty in remembering, mainly because her actual name was quite literally one letter away from being the same as his nickname.

After the girl, Mina, introduced herself, Mika simply gave a grunt and a nod in response before heading back to work, clearly not interested in befriending the girl. Mina, however, seemed to linger around close to Mika, assisting him in his area to the best of her abilities. She did inadvertently become an obstruction, though Mika was too amused by her rather childish attempts at helping/getting his attention to really mind.

For a long moment, both of them were silent, simply carrying out their given duties. Finally, however, Mika spoke up. He didn't exactly mind Mina being close, but he still prefered to be alone. Even so, Mika didn't exactly want any hostile attention directed towards him, so he tried to get her to leave as polite as he could.

"Shouldn't you be with a friend?" he asked, glancing at Mina with a raised eyebrow. Mina, on the other hand, looked at him with a somewhat confused stare. She then apparently connected two and two together, or at least she thought she did, and responded.

"Not exactly," she admitted, stretching her back a little. Mika could hear a few pops as she did, and the black haired girl rolled her shoulder as she responded. " _Annie's_ back at home resting… so is _Nac_ … I'm only here because I wanted to."

"You wanted to?" questioned Mika, an eyebrow raised. He didn't know why anyone who had no potential interest in farming would willingly work here.

"Yep. I kinda felt bad for the refugees… and kinda volunteered to join…" admitted Mina sheepishly. "Mum didn't exactly approve… neither did Nac… but I managed to convince them…"

Mika simply nodded at that. It was a naive mindset, sure, but he wasn't gonna voice that out. But one more question still lingered in his mind. "...why are you staying beside me instead of trying to make new friends?"

"Come again?" said Mina, not quite getting what Mika meant.

"Why are you here with me when you can go make friends with other people?" repeated Mika in a more conventional manner which made Mina blink.

"Well…" she muttered, scratching the back of her neck rather awkwardly as she gave a crooked smile. "You… erm… you kinda just seemed… lonely, ya know? Everyone else has someone accompanying them… everyone but _you_. I felt a little bad and decided to at least stand close."

Lonely… that was a word Mika didn't expect to hear from the girl. He had expected some crazier reason, not something as simple as him being lonely. And, as much as he didn't want to admit it, Mika _was_ feeling at least a little lonely. Without anyone from _Tekkadan_ to converse (however brief or enthusiastically) with, Mika felt his sense of camaraderie slowly fade, replaced by a rather strange sense of loneliness.

It seemed as though Mika had frozen for a while, thinking about what Mina had brought up, as the girl had to wave a hand in front of his face in order to snap him back to reality. Blinking, he saw that Mina was bent down a bit so that they were on eye level. "You alright, Mika? You kinda spaced out there."

Mika's response to that was to quickly shake his head and grunt softly. When that was done, he refocused on Mina, who, to his surprise, look somewhat concerned for him. However, he quickly ignored that look on her face, assuming that he was just seeing things, and grunted, though mentally the boy was thinking of something to try and cover up his rather sudden space-out. "... I was just… thinking about something."

That wasn't exactly that smart. He knew that if anyone were to use that as an excuse for anything, the one who they told it to would ask what they were thinking of. And, sure enough, after an admittedly adorable tilt of her head, Mina asked. "Of what?"

"Of…" muttered Mika, not entirely sure on how he should answer, so he improvised. "Of how… _lucky_ you are."

"Lucky?" questioned Mina, tilting her head with a raised brow. And though she couldn't notice, Mika silently cursed himself for saying that. But he didn't let his unease show, instead keeping his expression neutral as he improvised on a reply.

"Ah…" he replied, looking away from Mina as he carefully chose his words, racking his brain as he improvised. "You… have friends. I only had a few back at… _Shiganshina_."

Mika needed a lot more effort than he had expected to not say _'Tekkadan'_. The boy was still very used to saying that name, and he needed to remind himself that it didn't exist here. However, Mina didn't seem to notice how he had to pause in between certain words. Instead, she seemed… well, concerned for him. Perhaps even a little guilty.

"Oh… right…" she muttered, looking away from Mika and down at her own feet. And. for a surprisingly long moment, the girl stayed quiet. So much so that Mika assumed that the conversation was over and went back to unrooting whatever he could see, only stopping when Mina snapped her fingers rather loudly, making the boy swivel his eyes to glance at her. "Hey, I've got an idea!"

Mika intended to ignore her, but he ended up giving an acknowledging grunt by accident, prompting Mina to go on.

"Why don't _you_ be _our_ friend?" she asked, smiling like a maniac, albeit one with good intentions. Except unlike a maniac, her smile seemed genuine and non-psychopathic. Almost as though she were actually asking Mika, a child soldier who killed hundreds, even before piloting _Barbatos_ , to be her friend. Granted, she didn't know about that, but still, he was surprised that she offered him of all people, as he was, according to Shino when he asked him once, one of the least approachable people he's ever met, and that was saying a lot as he's approached a lot of people in his lifetime.

Mika seemed to have frozen from surprise once more, as the boy ended up staring at the girl in slight shock for a few seconds, making Mina tilt her head to the side and raise one of her eyebrows snap her fingers in front of his face a little, _snapping_ him out of it. "...huh?"

"I asked-"

"I know," said Mika, cutting Mina off as he looked at her in mild shock. "...but why?"

"Why?" asked Mina, smiling as she unrooted a sizable carrot and stared at it for a moment. She then turned to face Mika. "Well, it's pretty simple. No one deserves to be alone, you know? And besides, you seem like a nice guy. I'm pretty sure Annie and Nac would like you… maybe Nac more so than Annie… but I don't think Annie likes many people anyways."

"...you're serious?" questioned Mika after staying silent for a moment or two. And that question earned him a gentle and somewhat sarcastic smile from Mina.

"Why would I lie, anyways?" she asked, pointing the sharper tip of the carrot in her hand towards Mika in a somewhat teasing manner. Mika didn't flinch, something which the girl had apparently expected him to do, so she just tossed her carrot into a bag and extended one of her small hands towards Augus, making the boy raise an eyebrow. "I don't exactly have anything to gain by lying to you. If anything, Id probably lose something if I did."

"And what would you lose?" questioned Mika, gazing at her small hand as the girl smiled.

"A potential friend," responded Mina cheerfully. "You seem a little intimidating, I won't lie, but that's how everyone is when you first meet them. I'm sure you're a great guy, I just needa know you better!"

Frankly, that response shocked Mika, though unlike the past three times, he didn't freeze up, instead, he looked down at his feet, a little flattered that someone, even someone who didn't know about his history, would say something like that. Turning back to Mina, he eyed her with a newfound sense of respect as she kept her smile fixed on him.

"So, you gonna take the offer?" inquired Mina.

Looking at her smaller hand, Mika silently took a second to consider, and slowly, the boy lifted his hand up close to his face. He clenched it a little, before huffing and looking down at Mina's. And, with a shrug, he accepted her handshake, only for Mina to widen her eyes in a small amount of surprise. "Whoa…"

Mika raised one of his brows as he looked at the girl in mild curiosity. "Hm?"

"Your hands… they are pretty big…" she mused, smiling as Mika released her hand and looked at his own.

That comment brought back some good memories, fond ones from a past life. Looking at his hand wistfully, Mika allowed a small smile to crawl onto his face as he nodded.

"Yeah… I get that a lot."

* * *

 **Several days later**

If he were absolutely honest, Mika had expected Mina to completely forget about him just one or, at best, two days after the two met and had apparently become friends.

One couldn't exactly blame him for that, however. Even before he had arrived in this Hellhole, Mika had issues with trusting others outside of CGS and _Tekkadan_. He knew from personal experience that almost everyone would try to take advantage of a child, especially one who looked as frail as him. Almost every 'friend' he had which wasn't from CGS/ _Tekkadan_ had left him within a week of befriending him to pursue their own personal matters, either that or they would usually use him to further their own ambitions, teaching him that the term 'friend' was to never be used to refer to anyone outside of _Tekkadan_.

Mina, however, did the complete opposite of everything Mika had come to expect. The girl had not only kept him company for the entirety of the day which they met, but she had also made a serious, and somewhat impressive (and perhaps a little creepy if Mika thought too much about it), effort at seeking him out and accompanying him every single day at the fields. Whenever he thought that he'd be alone, Mina would suddenly pop up from nowhere to kick that thought straight out of his mind.

At first, Mika had found her rather annoying. He wasn't one who enjoyed the company of strangers, and in his eyes, Mina was still considered one. But as the days flew by, with the days turning into weeks and said weeks gradually evolving into a month, Mika had inadvertently found himself getting used to Mina's company, perhaps even taking a _liking_ the girl, something which surprised even him.

More often than not, Mina would be talking about trivial things which Mika held little concern about, such as the state of affairs in _Trost_ or how the mission to try and retake the breached Walls ended in spectacular failure, which didn't surprise Mika one bit. He did pay a little more attention to her when she was talking about herself, however. Not exactly because he was interested, but more because he had a mild sense of respect for her, perhaps because she, unlike everyone he knew (who wasn't a part of _Tekkadan_ ), actually acted like a friend to him.

Over the next two weeks since the two had first met, Mika learnt that Mina was raised by only one parent, her mother. She never knew her father, which technically made her half of an orphan, and she came from the neighboring district of _Karanese_ , coming here out of necessity. Her admiration of the soldier group known as the _Survey Corps_ wasn't too hard to notice, as she tended to focus all her conversation topics around them. Part of him suspected that she intended on joining them, though he could be wrong. He also remembered her talking her mother, someone whom she considered to be an angel. She also spoke about Nac and Annie fondly, something which showed her friendship with the two.

By the third week since he befriended Mina, Mika found it rather routine for him to be talking to the girl, or rather listening as he let her do most of the talking as he wasn't exactly considered much of a talker while Mina was the complete opposite. He found her company rather welcomed, especially since it helped him cope with his current dilemma. However, he didn't expect her to ask one rather awkward question which he had no way to answer.

"Hey, Mika?" asked Mina rather abruptly during one of their field works while they plucked some corn off their corbs. Mika didn't look at her, simply giving a grunt of acknowledgement as he tossed a corn piece into a basket. He would have worried about it breaking on impact, but he's harvested enough corn to know that they won't break that easily. "I was wondering… do you have any parents?"

Mika's response was swift. "No."

"Oh… were they…" she said, before stopping, a little uncertain on if she should continue. But Mika knew what she was about to say and cut her off.

"I never had any," he said, making Mina widen her eyes to a rather impressive extent.

"W-Wait… you're an orphan…?!" exclaimed Mina, so loud that Mika had to recoil in surprise and that several people by the sides turned to stare in confusion. The unwanted attention made the girl slap both hands over her mouth and widen her eyes in embarrassment. "S-Sorry about that… but… you're…?"

"Ah," confirmed Mika with a gruff nod. Mina only nodded.

"Do… do you have a home?" she asked, and Mika huffed. He knew that it wouldn't be smart to tell her the truth, as the barn he used to hold _Barbatos_ was technically his new home and he'd rather not let anyone know about it, even Mina, so he lied.

"No."

Mina didn't seem surprised, but she still had a mask of sadness over her face. It was soon replaced with a thoughtful look, however, followed by an expression which told Mika that she had just thought of something which was supposedly smart as she snapped her fingers. "Hey, Mika?"

"Hm?" muttered Mika with a raised brow.

"Why don't cha' come live with me?" asked Mina with a pretty somewhat sly, yet still friendly, smile. Her question made Mika raise his brows in amusement, surprised that she actually asked that as it was the last thing he expected her to even inquire about. He had apparently froze staring at her, as Mina had to snap her fingers in front of his face. "You there, Mika?"

"Huh… yeah," said Mika with a nod, feeling a little more awkward than usual as he scratched the back of his neck. "... are you sure?"

"Well, yeah!" replied Mina with a wide smirk as she placed her hands on her hips. "My mom wouldn't mind. I mean, she let Annie and Nac live with us… and she really enjoyed their presence. And honestly, I think another boy would be pretty good, since Nac's the only boy in the house right now… pretty unfortunate for him…"

Mika gave an acknowledging, and somewhat amused, grunt. Nac's situation seemed to mirror Atra's, as she was technically a girl in a sea of boys whenever she visited them before CGS became _Tekkadan_.

"So, you up for that?" asked Mina, waiting for a response. Mika, on the other hand, took a moment to think about this.

It didn't exactly take long for Augus to find his answer to Mina. He felt as though he had been with Mina for long enough to know that she didn't intend on doing anything malicious to him (even if she didn't look like she could hurt anything), and she had earnt at least a small amount of his trust. That, and living in an actual house, no matter how shoddy it could be, would be better than spending the rest of his days inside a barn, sleeping inside the cockpit of _Barbatos_.

"... but I'm an orphan, and we met not too long ago," pointed out Mika, intending to test Mina's sincerity. Though, to his surprise, the girl gave a giggle.

"I probably should have mentioned this, but Annie and Nac are _also_ orphans," stated Mina with one index finger in the air, and Mika quirked an eyebrow up in mild surprise, not expecting Mina's mother to already have two orphans, alongside her actual daughter, under her wing. "So yeah… I guess you could say that me and mum are used to having Orphans with us. Annie's also like you in a few ways…"

Mika simply raised an eyebrow at the girl, mildly interested in what she meant. "Meaning?"

"She acts like you," said Mina, quick and straight to the point. "Not talkative and not very friendly… and I only met her like, what, a day before I met you?"

When she said 'not very friendly', Mika swore that Mina's face paled by at least ten shades as though she wished she didn't say that. Mika simply looked at her, somewhat confused, before he snapped a finger in front of her face, a trick he learnt from Mina herself. It worked pretty well, as Mina snapped out of it, flailing her arms all over the place as Mika watched in mild amusement. After a second or two, Mina seemed to regain her bearings and clear her throat.

"W-Well…" she muttered, scratching the back of her head in a mixture of nervousness and embarrassment. "D-Do you accept…?"

"Sure," was Mika's response, quick and simple, but when she heard it, Mina gave an adorable fistbump which Mika couldn't help but smile faintly at.

"Ah right!" proclaimed Mina with a victorious smirk as she pointed to a location not too far from where they stood. Turning towards where she was pointing, Mika saw that it was the entrance/exit to the fields. "I'll meet you over there at sunset. See you then?"

"Count on it," was Mika's reply, not sounding too enthusiastic, but perhaps a little more so than he usually was.

Though what he couldn't expect was that him accepting Mina's invitation to live with her would be perhaps the smartest move he made in this God forsaken place.

* * *

 **A couple of hours later**

True to his word, Mika had waited for Mina at the entrance/exit of the fields. The girl, on the other hand, had not shown up for a while, making Mika wait for about ten minutes. On a regular day, Mika would be able to wait rather patiently, perhaps even able to wait for two hours without any issue.

However, that was if he was fully awake and on a full stomach. Currently, it was rather late, with the sun about to disappear at the corner of the earth, and his hours of admittedly tiring work were catching up to him, so much so that he had to rub his eyes to keep himself from sleeping while standing up. He was thankful that he brought along his _Tekkadan_ jacket, as the air of _Trost_ was rather cold when night fell.

Finally, after about fifteen minutes after the sun had set over the horizon/top of _Trost_ , and after Mika had nearly slept standing up for the third time, the boy finally heard Mina's voice in the distance. Quickly, the boy shook his head and looked towards where Mina's voice came from and saw the girl racing towards him, looking breathless yet still somehow happy. When she came to a stop in front of him, the girl looked ready to pass out from exhaustion, though she instead slouched down and propped her hands on her knees in an effort to try and keep herself upright.

"S-Sorry… Mika… needed… permi-" she stopped to catch her breath, holding up a finger to tell Mika to give her a moment. "Permission! Needed… permission from mum…"

Mika supposed that explained why she took so long to get here. He didn't exactly know why, and he never did care, most kids kept asking their parents about matters such as this. He suspected that it was out of loyalty, perhaps like him and Orga, as Mika used to wait for his old friend to give him an order, but he wasn't the type to ask him for permission before he did everything. Perhaps Mina's mother was one of those overprotective types which Mika heard of a few times, or perhaps she'd get a beating if she invited Mika over to stay without her mother's permission. Whatever the reason was, Mika didn't exactly dwell on it. Right now, Mina was here. And he followed her as she began leading him towards her house.

The walk to Mina's house was generally uneventful, consisting of several turns and having to cross a bridge at one point. Mina tried several conversation topics, all of which Mika held no interest in but pretended to listen to just to humor her.

After about ten minutes, and after learning about an incident in _Dauper Village_ involving a girl known as _Sasha_ having stolen a basket of bread and feasting upon them like some rabid animal/Titan, Mika and Mina found themselves in front of a modest sized structure, at least when compared to most places Augus has seen in the confines of the Walls, anyways.

Roughly as tall as _Barbatos_ while it was kneeling down, though not as wide, the modest little brick house was held upright by a couple of wooden planks. From what he could see, there were two levels to this house, as evident by the small window near the roof. There was also a decently sized window right next to the door of the house. Said door appeared to be partially rotten through and in need of either some serious repair or be outright replaced. There also seemed to be a small balcony on the second floor, with some clothes lines positioned on top.

His examination of the house, however, was interrupted by Mina when she cleared her throat. Turning to her, he saw that she seemed somewhat nervous, as if Mika's opinion on her house could lead to her death, and if he said he didn't like it, she would spontaneously combust. "So… erm… whaddaya think?"

Mika simply shrugged at that. He supposed it looked descent. It was similar to a lot of the house's in _Chryse_ , so it wasn't exactly impressive by any stretch of his imagination. But he supposed that it was alright, so he gave a shrug, not noting how Mina was holding her breath. "It's nice."

Upon saying that, Mina released her breath and smirked rather proudly, confusing Mika to a certain extent as he tilted his head to the side. Mina gave a chuckle at that as she scratched the back of her head, making Mika's confusion increase by tenfold.

"Well," said Mina once she was done staring as Mika's admittedly adorable confused expression. "Let's not stand on ceremony! Come on!"

Before he could say anything else, Mina seized Mika's wrist and dragged him towards her house's door. Her strength, despite her small frame, did surprise him to a certain degree. Augus knew that he could easily stop her in her tracks, but he allowed her to pull him just to humor her. Mina only stopped when they were right in front of her house's door, and Mina swung it open rather intensely before spreading her hands apart in a dramatic fashion, most likely to show off the interior of her home.

Admittedly, Mika found the interior was better than the exterior. It wasn't too cramped despite what what the exterior design would suggest, with a decently sized couch over to the side, a somewhat sizable wooden table with two normal looking chairs alongside two more which looked to be handmade, and what appeared to be a kitchen area with an old fashion stove and a box. The stairs which led to the second floor seemed to be nearly rotten through, just barely holding together, and there seemed to be a smaller room to the side, most likely a bathroom.

While he was looking about the room, however, Mika did not note the lady who was approaching them from the kitchen area until she was right in front of them. Turning his attention towards her, Mika had to crane his head upwards at forty five degrees in order to look her in the eye. Standing somewhere close to Chocolate Guy's height, and perhaps around the 30 and 34 age group, the lady looked similar to Mina, with thick black hair and some rather fair skin. Her eye colour was similar to Mina's grey, though perhaps a tad darker. She wore an ash brown shirt and a long, medium brown skirt, both of which looked to be hand sewn, most likely by herself. Atop her attire was a dark grey apron which may have been sewed back together multiple times.

"Hiya, mum!" greeted Mina once Mika had noticed the lady before them. The lady, _Mrs Carolina_ , as Mika decided to call her from then on, simply smiled in response and gave Mina a gentle, hearty pat on the head, ruffling up her hair in the process, making the girl blush in embarrassment, most likely because it was happening right in front of a guest, though she didn't voice that out.

Once she was done ruffling up her daughter's hair, the older Carolina turned to regard Mika. the boy watched as the lady eyed him from head to toe, with a hint of suspicion in her gaze, most likely because Mika seemed a little threatening in her eyes. He didn't think too much about it, however. The worst that could happen was her kicking him out of her home, something Mika was, admittedly, expecting to happen, anyways. Though to his surprise, she allowed a warm smile to grace her face after she had examined him, even if it did look partially forced.

"Welcome home, Mina," was the first thing she said, looking at her daughter with a warm smile. Mina returned the expression, smiling as though she had won something, before her mother turned back to Mika. She still seemed wary of him, but it didn't show too much as she smiled warmly at the boy. "And I take it that you are Mikazuki Augustine?"

Mika ignored the misinterpretation of his last name and simply gave a nod. Mina also nodded to confirm that.

"Ah… I remember my daughter talking a lot about you," informed Mrs Carolina as she bent forward to look Mika in the eye. And Mika thought that the smile on Mrs Carolina's face went from friendly (however forced it may have seemed) into a more juviel, playful smirk. "It's _almost_ as though she views you as her _boyfriend_."

For a second, no one spoke. Only silence hung in the air, silence so absolute that it was deafening. But after that single second was up, Mina's face suddenly flared up, turning into a shade of red which was so extreme that Mrs Carolina thought she had given her daughter a fever. The only thing stopping her from placing the back of her palm against her daughter's forehead was Mina swinging her arms wildly and yelling at the top of her lungs.

"EEEEEEEH?! MUUUUUUM!" she exclaimed, her red face threatening to turn five shades deeper. The sudden yell made Mika flinch a little while Mrs Carolina tried calming her daughter to little avail, though in Mina's defence her mother was also laughing her rear off.

Once Mina had calmed down a little, even if her face was still red, Mrs Carolina gave an apology before turning to Mika. "Sorry about that," she said, scratching the back of her neck with a rather sly, open mouthed smile. "What I meant to say was that my daughter tells me about you every day after her work at the fields."

"She does?" questioned Mika, an eyebrow raised. And for some reason, Mrs Carolina seemed a little surprised by his voice, most likely because it sounded a little gruff for someone as young as him. But her surprise left as soon as it came, replaced with her friendly expression.

"Why, yes!" replied Mrs Carolina, smiling and cupping her hands together, ignoring the embarrassed look her daughter was giving her. "Every day, Mina comes home and tells me about you… she says that you're an attentive listener, and you're apparently pretty strong."

Rather rapidly, the older Carolina began listing down the things which her daughter had told her about Mika. While the younger Carolina was visibly embarrassed by all that info, Mika showed no signs of it. In fact, he seemed perfectly calm with all this new info, much to Mrs Carolina's surprise, as the lady had expected him to at least be a little flattered by all that, now to simply stare at her blankly.

"And just a while ago," continued Mrs Carolina, her tone and expression slowly turning a little serious as she looked at Mika, her wariness of him showing through a little. "Mina told me that she invited you to live with us."

Mika gave a shrug and nodded impassively at that, and Mrs Carolina seemed to consider her words rather carefully from there on. "I suppose that… I could allow you to stay with us for some time."

Mika raised a brow, a little confused as to what Mrs Carolina meant by that, but he noted that Mina seemed to tense up a little at that. Though Mika's attention was drawn away from Mina when her mother's expression went back to being friendly, albeit a little forced looking. Sensing the change in mood, Mina forced a smile and scratched the back of her neck.

"Ha… well, erm…" muttered Mina, looking between her mother and Augus. "Could I… erm… show him around?"

Mrs Carolina's reply was a smile and a nod. "Go right ahead, darling."

With that said, Mina seized Mika's wrist and dashed up to her room on the second floor, ignoring the rather worried expression which her mother gave her.

* * *

 **Mina/Nac/Annie's bedroom**

According to Mina, Nac, Annie and herself shared a room with each other to conserve space in their small house, a reasonable decision if Mika were honest. The room was one of the two on the second floor of the house, with two small beds. One of the two was a double deckered and one which was single. Both were held together with a lot of strings which varied in thickness. The top bunk of the double deckered bed seemed to be hastily stuck on instead of being part of the original bed frame, something which made it very precarious looking.

Over by the only window in the room was a bedside table, a very wobbly one at that. It held a single, oil powered lantern which had more cracks than most things Mika's seen back at _Tekkadan_. Outside of the beds and this bedside table (and the lamp, maybe?), there were no other pieces of furniture in the room, though there were several pieces of paper scattered about the floor.

When she entered, Mina first turned the lantern on, the tiny flame lighting the room up to a surprising degree in spite of its size. With that done, she sat down on the bottom bunk of one of the beds. The bed visibly squeaked under her weight, but it still held. Mika just stood in the middle of the room. Mina did suggest he sit on a bed, but Mika only half listened to her, instead sitting on the floor in front of her. Mina did try to convince him to sit on a bed, but it didn't work, so she gave up and let him sit on the floor.

He wasn't willing to risk letting his weight break one of these beds. He didn't have any money to use to repay them, after all.

"So… erm…" muttered Mina after an uncomfortable few minutes of silence, making Augus look up and face her. He noted that she seemed to fidget a little more than usual, clearly anxious and perhaps a little apologetic. For what, he currently didn't know. "Yeah… sorry about the way my mum acted back there…"

Mika simply raised his brows at that. He had not expected Mina to notice the way her mother had seemed to distrust him. He himself did notice, but he didn't bother bringing it up, and even now he did not say anything about it, with his only real reply to Mina being an expression which told her to that he didn't mind. However, the Carolina didn't seem to get it and went on.

"Well… you see… my mum isn't exactly the most trusting person out there…" admitted Mina as though she were sharing a family secret. "It took her a few days to fully trust Nac when he first joined our family… and even though she's warming up to her… I don't think mum has fully trusted Annie yet… I think it's because of how she acts and looks… which… well… erm… she basically acts and looks like you… except she's a girl…"

Mika got the basics of what Mina was trying to convey to him. Mrs Carolina was not one to trust so easily, something which could be an issue if he was trying to live in her house. Despite what one would think, Mika would prefer to stay within the confines of a wooden house instead of the interior of a half broken barn, so the boy decided that he would take his chances at earning the older Carolina's trust.

"...but hey!" continued Mina, smiling ever so cheerfully at Augus, who snapped out of his minor trance and turned to face her. "If my mum can warm up to a girl version of you, then I'm sure she can do the same with the boy!"

Upon saying that, Mina appeared to have expected Mika to give out a laugh, or perhaps a chuckle or even a small smile. Unfortunately for her, Mika had a tiny sense of humor, and her rather tasteless joke had completely went over his head, making her sign in defeat.

' _Least he didn't make fun of me for that…'_ Mina thought before she regained her cheery mood, clapping her hands together energetically, making Mika raise an eyebrow, not knowing that Mina intended on telling and showing him everything which she currently had with her.

"Hey, Mika?"

"Hm?"

"Mind if I tell you a story…?"

"...sure."

* * *

 **Two hours later**

In the living of the Carolina household, Mrs Carolina sat on the couch, her hands cupped together in a somewhat nervous manner.

' _There's something strange about him…'_ thought the mother, looking towards the stairs which led upstairs, unintentionally tightening her hands grip on each other. She was clearly worried about leaving her daughter unattended with Mikazuki.

Despite being known by all three of her children, adopted and blood related, as being a woman who would always see the good inside of a person, not the bad, Mrs Carolina couldn't deny that there was something… off about Augus. Her daughter had told her that he was similar to Annie, something which had already put her on edge. Annie was already unsettling to her, with her emotionless expression and eyes which looked very close to being lifeless. She still remembered when Mina said that she wanted Annie to live with them. She had said no, only conceding when Mina gave her the puppy dog eyes.

However, despite the fact that he was rather similar to Annie in person, Mrs Carolina felt that something was wrong with Augus, and she suspected that it was the look in his eyes.

Annie's eyes were undeniably emotionless, but they still held some level of humanity in them, something which could not be said for Mika's. If anything, Mika looked almost as though he were a dead man walking. His eyes were so cold, much colder than Annie's, and she had saw no trace of humanity left in them… those were not the eyes of a child, they were the eyes of a killer.

The sudden creak from the stairs nearly made Mrs Carolina jump. Quickly snapping out of her minor trance, she turned to face whoever was coming down. She had expected her daughter to be coming down to relieve herself, but instead, she saw Mika, and just the mere sight of him made her blood freeze.

The boy looked as she had remembered, though he did seem a little tired, with his eyes barely open. Slowly, he carried himself towards the couch and sat down a cushion away from Mrs Carolina, all while ignoring the wary glance which the lady kept giving him. For a long moment, neither boy nor woman said a word. Mika simply sat there, quiet, while Mrs Carolina did the same, though she was tense.

And after an uncomfortably long moment, Mika spoke up.

"Is anyone sleeping here?" he asked, turning to face Mrs Carolina, who flinched at the sudden inquiry. Turning to face him, the older Carolina had expected Mika to give her his usual icy cold stare. But to her surprise… he didn't.

Perhaps it was because he was tired, but the boy's gaze didn't seem to be as threatening as when she first saw him. Instead, they seemed to be softer, with an almost innocent glint in his eyes, as he stared at her curiously. And for a moment, Mrs Carolina saw him for who he really was, a child who had lost nearly everything and was struggling to survive. But she silenced that thought as she raised an eyebrow.

"Pardon me…?" she muttered, confused as to what he meant. Mika, on the other hand, pressed a hand down on the couch they were sitting on.

"Does… anyone sleep on this?" repeated Mika, his tone rather drowsy as he spoke.

"Uh… no," replied Mrs Carolina. With his answer, Mika turned and picked up a small pillow, making Mrs Carolina understand why he had asked her that. "Wait… do you intend on sleeping _here_?"

Mika simply grunted in response.

"But… why here?" asked Mrs Carolina, making Mika raise an eyebrow and stare at her.

"You don't trust me," was his reply. "I can tell. You won't allow me to share a room with Mina, that much is obvious to me. Since the other room on top is probably yours, the couch is the only place I can reasonably sleep on."

His answer was quick, and it surprised Mrs Carolina. She had not expected him to figure that out. But it also gave her a slight stab of guilt. Despite the fact that she was still wary of him, she could bear to see him sleep on the couch. Perhaps it was her maternal instincts kicking in, or perhaps it was because he seemed to be much less of a threat now, looking more like a simple, orphaned child trying who was taking only the bare essentials he needed to survive.

Whatever the reason was, Mrs Carolina didn't intend on standing by and letting Mika rest on the couch. She remembered her daughter telling her much earlier that he had no home, even back in _Shiganshina_ , which told Mrs Carolina that the boy most likely slept on the floor for much of his life, and the lady felt as though that was reason enough to let him have a bed, not a couch which was pretty much as hard as the floor, anyways.

So, going against her judgement and following her maternal instincts, Mrs Carolina gave a defeated sigh. "Mikazuki Augus… I suppose that you could share the room with Mina…"

Upon saying that, Mrs Carolina was graced by a suspicious glance from Mika. She had a feeling that Mika thought she was messing with him, and she could help but chuckle at the strangely innocent gaze he gaze her.

"I mean it, Mika… a kid like you deserves to sleep on a bed, not this…" for a moment, Mrs Carolina didn't know how to describe her couch, simply giving it a good thump. "...thing."

For a moment, Mika stared at her, most likely judging her sincerity, before he nodded and sat up.

"... what about Annie and Nac?" questioned Mika, an eyebrow raised. Mrs Carolina was surprised that he asked that, but she gave a response anyways.

"Annie went off to a friend's house when she heard that you were coming over to stay… she doesn't like visitors. As for Nac… I told him to follow her," she explained. " _Reiner_ and _Bertholdt_ would most likely let them stay with them for a night."

Mika simply nodded at that as he stood up. Once he was up, the boy gave a small yawn, one which was not covered, making the lady before him cringe a little.

"Please, cover your mouth when you yawn," she scolded, making Mika turn to face her. For a moment, she expected him to just stare. Though that thought was wiped away when he opened his mouth, most likely to respond, only to yawn once more, though this time he actually did cover his mouth.

"... alright," he replied once the yawn was over. With that done, he headed upstairs and within seconds, Mrs Carolina heard him fall onto one of the beds, most likely Nac's. Despite her lingering wariness of Augus, she could stop herself from chuckling.

' _Perhaps I judged you too soon, Mikazuki Augus,'_ thought Mrs Carolina as she smiled wistfully. _'I have a feeling that you'd make a wonderful addition to our family…'_

* * *

 **Hooooooo boy. That took a while.**

 **GREETINGS. REINHARDT HERE. Wait, fuck. Rewind!**

 **GREETINGS! STRYKER HERE!**

 **Now, you may be surprised that I updated this first. My schedule did say the Ironing out Remnant would be the next to be updated… but in truth, I just really wanted to work on this.**

 **Speaking of Ironing out Remnant, that story WILL be on a temporary hiatus as of 28/5/2018. I'll be working on improving it. Sorry if that was some bad news to you folks.**

 **Now, onto proper TnK stuff. As you can see, this chapter contains very little stuff regarding** _ **Barbatos**_ **. In fact, it's almost 90% human characters. Now, a forewarning, the next few chapters will NOT be containing any** _ **Mobile Suit**_ **action, namely the next 6 chapters. That is because it will focus on character interactions and Mika forging bonds between his new companions. This chapter covered the Carolinas. The next few will cover the other two.**

 **This chapter is probably a little messy… alright it's very messy. I wrote this in an awkward time during my Preliminary Exams. What? Ya didn't know? Currently, I'm in my National Exam year. This year will determine my future. So if I don't update too frequently… you'll know why.**

 **On another note, I recently got** _ **Overwatch**_ **. I main Reinhardt, as you can probably tell. Names StrykerJ. If you wanna play alongside me, please, stay behind my shield.**

 **Onto some replies now.**

 **Ulydace: it's probably my fault that it's underrated. I did reboot it after all. The original was a lot more popular. And the idea of Barby being a deviant will be touched on in the next chapter… not to spoil anything.**

 **CrazyCriticer46: *counts* 10361 words, including the outro**

 **Glasses Writer: ah shucks, you make me blush. And the bullies I go against are kinda gone, so I guess I got lucky. And dang. I will pray for you.**

 **Now I shall away. It's 1 in the morning… see ya whenever I see ya.**

 **Bonus**

 **Some time after C6**

* * *

Absentmindedly staring at Mikazuki and Mina who sat not too far from her, Ms Carolina smiled as her daughter spoke enthusiastically to her newest friend, who, as she had said, was a great listener.

While she watched, Ms Carolina couldn't help but feel that Mina really did like Mika, at least in the same way which she liked Nac and Annie, as in as good friend.

Or perhaps…

' _Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to have some fun~'_ thought Ms Carolina with a sly smile as she cleared her throat, prompting Mina to stop talking to Mika and turn to face her mother. Augus did likewise, and they raised their brows when they saw that smile on her face.

"Since Nac and Annie aren't here, I guess now's a good a' time as any to ask you two this," began Ms Carolina with a suggestive tone and smile. Mina and Mika looked confused at that, and it only made Ms Carolina smile wider as she asked her question. "You two seem close, close enough that I'm beginning to wonder if either of you like each other in _that way_?~"

Mika and Mina both took a second to register that question, and when they finished processing, the former raised a questioning eyebrow while the latter slapped both her cheeks and screamed like a banshee.

"MUUUUUM!" protested the younger Carolina as she zipped towards her mother and shook her by her shoulders. Her current embarrassment overridden her usual politeness, though Ms Carolina didn't seem to mind as she was still smiling as her daughter shook her. "PLEASE DON'T SAY THINGS LIKE THAT!"

"Why though? Mika doesn't seem to mind," pointed out Ms Carolina, prompting Mina to stop momentarily and turn to look at Mika, who was staring at them in amusement. However, Mina didn't seem to care much as she went on to shake her mother again.

"WHAT ABOUT ME?! I MIND A LOT!" protested Mina, and neither she nor her mother noticed the odd expression on Mika's face, one which seemed to resemble a smile.

' _Adorable…'_


	7. Tias

When he had woken up, the first thing which came to Mika's mind was him wondering if he was having a strange dream.

Unlike the past few days, where he had always woken up within the cockpit of the _Barbatos_ with an aching neck, Mika had woken up on something which felt moderately soft, feeling almost like a bed. It wasn't as good as the ones found on board the _Isaribi_ , but it was definitely a step up from the cockpit of _Barbatos_ in that it did not give him a minor neck cramp when he woke up.

For a moment, Mika simply laid on the bed which was provided to him, eyes closed as he did. Once he was satisfied, Mika groaned and swung his legs over the edge of the bed and gave a yawn and shook his head to relieve himself of the sleepiness spell. As he did, Augus began to remember how he had gotten here.

' _Huh… Mina invited me over… and Mrs Carolina insisted I sleep here…'_ thought the boy as he looked down at one of the legs of the bed. It visibly squeaked under Mika's weight, but it still held. Mika also noted that the leg had an 'N' inscribed into it, leading him to believe that he had slept on 'Nac's' bed. He didn't know who he was, and if he were honest, he didn't exactly care if Nac didn't like him sleeping on his bed.

After Mika had rid himself of the sleepiness spell, he stood up and made for the exit to the room. The door was closed, though it opened with the greatest of ease, giving out a rather loud squeak as Mika, rather gently, pushed it open, prompting the pilot to wince. Even though he was standing at the door on the second floor, Mika could still hear Mina's voice from down below.

"Come on, Annie!" she protested, sounding rather close to whining. Seeing as how Mina had called out 'Annie', Mika suspected that the other two residents of this household had returned from 'Reiner' and 'Bertholdt's place while he was asleep. "Give him a chance! You became friends with me and Nac, after all! Why not Mikazuki?"

"Because I don't want to," was Mina reply from who Augus presumed to be Annie. And Mika had to admit, she did sound at least a little lifeless, confirming what Mina said when she said she was like him.

"Come on, Ann'," came another voice, though Mika thought it sounded somewhat muffled, most likely because whoever was speaking had their mouth full. The speaker went silent for a while, most likely to get rid of whatever was in their mouth before speaking up, and he sounded distinctively male, leading Augus to believe that he was Nac. "I know you don't like to make friends, but you gotta give everyone a chance! I mean, you gave Mina and I a chance, didn't ya?"

No one replied to that, making Mika assume that the conversation was over, prompting him to make his way to the bottom floor. He didn't intend on announcing his arrival, but the first step which he took down the stairs gave a rather loud creak, a sound which made Mika cringe a little.

"Hey, I think he's up!" came Mina's voice, and as Mika made his way down, he heard a chair get pushed out of the way and the sound of footsteps approaching the stair. By the time he had gotten to ground level, Mika had his gaze fixed onto a boy, a _tall_ one at that, completely ignoring Mina, who was standing beside him, and the one who was most likely Annie, who was shielded from his field of vision by the tall boy anyways, though he had a feeling that she was sitting on the kitchen table. Mika did silently wonder where Mrs Carolina was, but he suspected that she was out working.

Standing somewhere between Orga and Akihiro in terms of height, the boy in front of him was most certainly the kid which Mina had called _Nac Tias_. He fit all the descriptions which Mina had given him, with his exceptionally fine black hair which was swept back in a rather stylish way, the intimidating height of nearly 5.90 feet, and outfit which consisted of an ash brown shirt and medium grey jeans/long pants which reached his ankles. He was so tall that Mika was required to crane his neck up rather intensely in order to look him in the eyes. Judging by his face, Mika predicted Nac to be older than him, perhaps at the age of fourteen or fifteen.

"Heya!" greeted the taller boy with a smirk, his voice a lot friendlier than initially expected, giving Augus a simple wave, a gesture which Mika didn't return. The shorter boy simply looked up at him blankly, unsure of how to respond, though he didn't expect the taller bloke's expression to turn a little worrying, an expression which reminded him of someone…

"Erm… you ok there… Mikazuki-San?"

Quickly shaking his head, Mika looked back up and saw that Nac looked and sounded, rather surprisingly, worried. His expression conveyed his emotions pretty well, something which Mika envied a little. However, he pushed that thought out of his head as he nodded in response.

"...I'm fine," replied Mika, making the taller boy smile in what he assumed to be relief.

"Good ta' hear," he said, before he extended a hand, presumably for a handshake. "I think Mina's told you about me, but it's polite to formally introduce myself. Name's Nac Tias."

Looking at his own hand for a moment, Mika clenched it rather tightly before accepting the handshake, giving it a good, tight grip as he shook it. "Mikazuki Augus."

"Y-Yeah… hey there, Augus," groaned Nac, sounding a little in pain as they shook hands, clearly finding the handshake a little too tight. Noting that, Mika released Nac's hand. Upon releasing it, Nac pulled his hand away and began nursing it. Mika, on the other _hand_ , headed over to the couch and sat down. "D-Dang… you got a tight grip…"

Mika gave no response, simply moving over to sit on the couch, so Mina spoke up in his place as the boy rubbed his wrist. "Well… I guess he was trying to make a first impression on you? I mean… he made one on me… and Annie sure did make one on you…"

Nac gave an embarrassed chuckle at that, most likely remembering the 'incident' which happened just a week ago with Annie when he had made an attempt at befriending her. "I suppose so…"

While the two spoke, Mika took a quick glance at the table where Annie was sitting at. The girl was rather short, as noted by how far her feet hung above the floor as she sat on the chair, though Mika couldn't accurately say how tall she was at the moment. Aside from her height, her other notable features were her light blonde hair and light blue eyes, eyes which seemed to be almost as dead as his. Her hair was tied up in a messy ponytail. And, judging by her face, Augus suspected she was twelve or thirteen, either one year below or on par with him. The short girl wore a rather thick, white/light grey parka and light brown pants.

While he was examining at Annie, Mika failed to notice that Nac had taken a seat beside him until he had sat down. Turning to glance at the taller boy, Mika raised a brow at him. Nac, on the other hand, flashed a friendly smile as he gave another wave. Mika wasn't sure how he should respond to that, so he just stared, something which seemed to make Nac a little uncomfortable. From the corner of his eye, Mika could see Mina behind Annie, tidying up her messy hair.

"So… uhm…" said Nac, sounding somewhat awkward as he twiddled his fingers against each other. For a moment, the boy stayed silent as he tried to think about a topic which he could speak of. "...nice weather we're having… huh?"

Mika's response was to glance out the window, where the sun was blazing down heat which was most likely close to forty degrees down on at least the eastern side of _Trost_. If he were honest, it wasn't what he'd consider 'nice', but he decided that he may as well humor Nac, replying to him with a nod and a grunt. The taller boy seemed to take it as a sign to continue onto a random topic.

"Well… erm… Mina told me and Annie that you were from _Shiganshina_ …" continued Nac, fumbling onto another topic as he tapped his index fingers together. "It's probably a lot hotter in there, ya know?"

"Ah," muttered Mika, still unsure on how he should actually respond to Nac's attempts at starting various conversations. Mika simply listened as Nac moved onto another random topic. It was rather obvious to Augus that he was trying to befriend him, but he seemed rather awkward about it. Almost as though the boy was a little _afraid_ of him, something which wasn't exactly unjustified as Mika, in spite of his size, was a rather threatening figure.

And that essentially summed up what happened for the next couple of hours, most likely two if Mika's estimation was correct. Nac had been shooting Mika with many trivial questions and topics while he shot back with the same, general, bored sounding response, usually an unenthused "ah" or a grunt and a nod. Over by the table, Annie didn't seem to bother with even staring at him, but Mina kept glancing over at the two of them, most likely to see how far Nac had progressed in earning Mikazuki's friendship.

During said two hours, however, Mika managed to draw a connection to Nac and an old friend of his. At first, Mika couldn't quite put his finger on who Tias reminded him of. But by now, the connection became clear. Nac had reminded him of Shino…

Nac was nearly a carbon copy of Shino, personality wise, anyways. Like Shino, Nac would keep speaking to a person in an attempt to get them to cheer up or smile. He also seemed _very_ keen on befriending him no matter what, as evident by how he relentlessly blasted Mika with wave after wave of trivial nonsense, most likely in an attempt to get him to reply and start a conversation, something Shino was rather (in)famous for doing back at _Tekkadan_ /CGS. Unfortunately for Nac, however, Mika wasn't one to trust anyone so quickly, even if the taller boy had reminded him rather strongly of an old friend. He only trusted Mina after many weeks of working together in the fields.

Despite that, however, Mika couldn't help but feel something strange in his gut. It felt exactly the same as the feeling he had back when he first met Mina, only a little stronger this time. Atra had always labeled it as _butterflies in one's stomach_. Mika used to think it was preposterous for a butterfly to be in a person's stomach until Atra had explained the actual meaning, someone feeling nervous or anxious. Though why he was feeling this way was beyond his comprehension.

Though Mika did spare some times to contemplate one thing… if him hanging around Mina and her family was slowly making him softer than he used to be.

* * *

 **Eight days later**

By the eighth day of him being here, Mika had more or less gotten used to living in the Carolina household.

When he was first invited to stay, Mika admittedly expected that he would only be there for a day or two before getting the boot. But to his surprise, Mrs Carolina, not counting her initial (somewhat) cold reception to him being invited here, was rather welcoming towards him. He didn't know why her attitude towards him took such an unexpected turn, but he didn't exactly mind or care. And considering how the Carolina residence was actually better much than the barn which he used to call his new home, Mika wasn't exactly going to complain.

His days in the Carolina household were usually the same. According to Mina, it was apparently rather easy to skip over the fieldwork which the _Garrison_ had appointed to the refugees of _Shiganshina_ / _Maria_. The girl told him that they didn't bother taking the attendances of the refugees, either as an oversight or just plain laziness. Mika was inclined to believe either. Even so, Mika did still made a conscious effort to go to the fields every now and then, mainly because he did enjoy farming, even if it was forced upon him, but also partially because he found it to be the most entertaining thing to do around here.

Most of the time, Mika would eat the food provided to the refugees who worked at the fields. But whenever he was taking a break from that, he noted that all three of the kids in the Carolina resident would take turns cooking whatever they were eating. A stew-like concoction seemed to be a popular cooking choice among the three, though if they didn't feel like getting their hands dirty, they would just grab pieces of bread. Mika may never know the true answer as to why, though he suspected that it was because stew and bread were the cheapest things out there. He did note that there was no meat in any of their food, though he never complained. To him, it never mattered if his food tasted nice. All that really mattered was that it filled his stomach, even if he did like big chunks of food, something which the others didn't seem to like making.

Of course, he did try his hand at cooking from time to time… something which didn't exactly end too well, with the boy nearly burning the makeshift stove at one point. From there on, Mika was only chosen to prepare meals when there we no other options left, something he didn't mind or care about enough to complain.

Despite Nac telling him that he could have his bed, Mika had insisted on sleeping on the couch for the eight days since he and Nac were acquainted with each other. He would have accepted Nac's offer to take his bed, but he didn't feel like he had any right to take it. After all, he was technically a guest, unlike Nac or Annie, who, from what he knew, were permanent residents. Though the boy did remember hearing Nac speak of making another bunk bed, something which kept Mika a little on edge as the makeshift top bunk which Annie slept on didn't seem too safe.

Aside from the food and his sleeping habits, Mika's relationship with the four residents of the house did improve to a certain degree, though not by much, considering how secluded Mikazuki tended to be in regards to his emotions.

His relationship with Mrs Carolina stayed more or less the same. Mika almost never saw the older Carolina. According to Mina, her mother was working in a hospital or clinic at the west side of _Trost_. She said that her mother worked 24/7 as some sort of doctor, though Mika knew that was an exaggeration as he has seen the older Carolina return home not long after the sun had set multiple times, most likely at nine or ten at night. Thanks to this relatively late schedule of hers, and the fact that he never sought her out for any conversations, meant that their relationship never really improved or lessened in any way.

As for Mina, Mika did admittedly find himself growing more used to her. Most of the time, Mina would accompany him to the fields, something which confused Augus as he didn't think that anyone in their right mind would do so. Mina reasoned that she wanted to keep him company, something which Mika did appreciated slightly, even if he still found it somewhat annoying. Still, he did end up getting used to Mina's company, perhaps even considering her an acquaintance of sorts, maybe even inching close to being considered a _friend_.

Annie was perhaps the coldest towards Mika. Unlike Mina or Nac, the blonde had never sought him out for any conversations, though Mika generally did the same to her so it was rather even between them. In the very few instances where their paths would cross, Annie would almost certainly give him her usual, cold glare, a glare which Mika would return in full. Mika also noted that Annie tended to be gone on the days where he had decided to not go to the fields, and soon found out that she had either went to 'Reiner' and 'Bertholdt's' house or she had went to the fields in his place, most likely because she was actively avoiding him.

Nac, however, could be considered the total opposite of Annie in every way possible, the most obvious way being that he was nearly twice as tall. Aside from height, Nac was also much, much more friendly than his blonde (presumed) friend. Unlike Annie, Nac made a conscious effort to seek Mika out at every opportunity, perhaps even more so than Mina, with his primary goal being, if Mika had to make a quick guess, to befriend him at all cost. Mika did start to think that Nac was trying too hard, but he was both amused and impressed at the amount of trivia which Nac had at his disposal. The taller boy seemed to know practically everyone in _Trost_ , at least according to Mina, something which was both impressive and just a bit worrying, and he knew just about every corner of the District, namely what areas to avoid and areas which are more tranquil than most.

For the longest time, Mika simply went about his business, not caring about getting close to any of the residents of the Carolina Residence, at least not intentionally anyways. He did, occasionally, wonder if anything had happened to _Barbatos_ , but he doubt that anyone had stumbled upon it as, according to Nac, no one dared venture into the eastern forests of _Trost_. Despite that, however, Mika would occasionally venture out to the barn where he kept _Barbatos_ just to check on it or to store a piece of stale bread inside it's cockpit, generally during midnight as that was when everyone was assured to be asleep. Thus far, Mika has stuck three pieces of bread (wrapped in cloth) inside the cockpit, an emergency ration for whenever he would need to pilot _Barbatos_ once more. Mika doubt that he would need to, but past experience had taught him to always be prepared for anything.

If he wasn't off at the fields, Mika would spend his free time in the house sitting on the living room's couch. To him, it was the most comfortable place to sit on, and, more or less, the most peaceful, as Nac, Mina and Annie tended to hang out in their shared room. Mika didn't intend on joining them in their conversations. The boy would usually be wondering what his old friends were doing as he sat on the chair. He hoped beyond hope that they were still alive, not as prisoners of war under Gjallarhorn, but as the company which Orga had envisioned. He knew it was a bit much, but he still hoped for the best for his family.

Mikazuki would have spent some of his time thinking back on his past deeds, perhaps doing some self reflection with all the free time he had, but to him, there was no point in indulging in past grievances. The boy has seen what the consequences of doing so were, one such consequence being too distracted by the regret for what they did in the past to focus on the present, something Mika didn't intend on doing. After all, he was here to survive, not feel bad about events from another world, events which were long behind him.

* * *

Currently, Mika had his rear planted on the couch of the Carolina household. The boy had decided to take a pass on working at the fields for the day, meaning Annie had went to take his place. Mina had also decided to tag along with her friend, leaving Mika alone with Nac, something which would have annoyed Mika, if Nac wasn't strangely absent.

Yes, unlike most days, where Nac would be firmly situated next to Mika on the couch, awkwardly babbling on about trivial nonsense which Mika had no interest in, Nac had remained in the top floor bedroom for quite some time. By now, Mika had gotten used to Nac babbling nonsense into his ears, so not hearing him do so was a little… strange, to put it simply.

After some time, however, Nac had come down from the top floor. At first, Mika didn't pay him any mind, but he eventually noted that Nac seemed to be preparing to leave the house. Why, he had no answer.

Out of curiosity, and before he could stop himself, Mika spoke up. "Where are you going?"

As soon as he heard his voice, Nac froze and turned to stare at Mika, his expression showing his surprise. But that expression eventually faded and turned into an awkward smile as he scratched the back of his neck. "Well… erm… I'm going to go have a stroll round' _Trost_ … it's something I tend to do."

Huffing, Mika gave a nod and averted his attention away from Nac, a sign of acknowledgment and telling Nac to carry on with what he was doing. The taller boy, on the other had, had a thoughtful look on his face as he rubbed his chin. And, most likely without thinking, he asked, "Would you like to come with?"

When he had asked that, Nac froze up as he realized what he had just asked. Mika, on the other hand, raised an eyebrow in amusement. However, he did consider the offer. Tias did know _Trost_ rather well, as evident by the amount of random trivia about the district which Nac had brought up during most of his random talks with him. That information could some in handy for him, especially if he was shown around the district personally.

So, not without some reluctance, Mika gave a nod and stood up. "Sure."

"Alright-" said Nac, only to realize freeze when he let what Mika had said sink in. "Wait, what?"

Mika simply raised a brow as he approached the taller boy. "I said sure."

And Nac only widened his eyes as Mika moved to stand in front of him, the taller boy's shadow completely engulfing the shorter. But the boy didn't complain as Mika stared up at him, waiting for the taller boy to lead the way out. Nac seemed to notice that, as he quickly opened the door.

"W-Well… let's go!" he said, smiling rather nervously as he held the door open. Mika exited while Nac followed, not noting the rather impressive, victorious smile plastered on the taller boy's face.

* * *

 **An hour later**

If he were honest, Mika had definitely underestimated Nac's knowledge of the ins and outs of _Trost_.

Over the course of an hour since the two had left the Carolina household, Nac had led Mika through nearly the entirety of the eastern wing of _Trost_. The boy was most definitely knowledgeable on areas which were best left unexplored and areas which were practically boistering with activity. And, while Mika did know of Nac's knowledge on the district thanks to the pieces of random trivia he dropped on his head from time to time, he didn't expect the taller boy to know the place _this_ much, something which was enough to impress Mika.

"It's just a perk of living here for all your life, half of which as a homeless kid who likes moving about, y'know?" said Nac rather modestly when Mika brought up the fact that he was extremely knowledgeable on the district, or at least the eastern side. However, Nac decided to take that as an opportunity to perhaps attempt to impress Augus. "Like for example, that store over there has some pretty good doughnuts on sale, and there's a store over by the western side which sells a pretty wide variety of fruits at a decent price."

Mika simply huffed and nodded, not exactly interested in those two snippets of detail, though part of him was surprised that Nac used to be homeless, not too a large extent, however, as his family name was different from Mina's. And, for a short while, Mika was silent, simply listening to Nac rather attentively while he spoke of random segments of the eastern wing of _Trost_ , something his expression didn't exactly suggest, as they moved along.

At the hour thirty minute mark, Nac made a rather dramatic show of stretching his arms as he spoke. "So… erm… you wanna head back now?"

Opening his mouth, Mika was about to say yes, but he then remembered something. "...what about the West side?" he asked, and he thought he saw some form of panic begin to develop in Nac's eyes when he asked.

"Oh, that side… well," began Nac, sounding somewhat nervous as he re-adjusted his grip on his book. "That side's not exactly where I'd go when it comes to sightseeing… bad stuff happens there a lot more than in the eastern side… considering how it's the district where more people gather in and all that…"

"I'm curious," was Nac's reply from Mika, who turned west. "If you don't want to, you can just go back."

When he said that, Mika began heading west. He wasn't exactly worried that he'd get lost, as he knew that going east would lead him back here, and even if he couldn't find the house, Mika could just head to the barn which held _Barbatos_ , the location of which being ingrained into his memory by now. The boy had fully expected Nac to go on his way back to the Carolina residence (or, if he were brave enough, try knocking him over the head and drag him back). However, what he did not expect was for Tias to give a defeated sigh as he spoke up. "God dammit, man… I'm not letting you go alone."

Turning his head back to face Nac, Mika saw that he wore a defeated expression, though it did look somewhat exaggerated, as he approached him, hands on his hips.

"I'm not letting you go alone, Mikazuki Augus," repeated Nac, scowling just a little as Mika raised his head upwards to stare at him. "It wouldn't be nice if you got lost and couldn't find your way home… so I'll come with."

And at that, Mika couldn't help but give an amused snort as he nodded.

"Let's go then."

* * *

"We are but children to kind yet humble Gods who watch over us! Come one, come all! Let us bask in the endless glory of the gifts which were provided to us by our saviors, the ones who rain salvation upon us all!"

Despite standing just barely a hundred metres away from him, Mika could hear that man rather clearly. Standing atop a rather sizable wooden crate, dressed in what appeared to be a priest's robe and holding what Mika assumed to be a bible of sorts, the man had most likely been standing there for the better part of thirty minutes, babbling his nonsense speak about these 'Gods' of his.

Currently, both Mika and Nac were standing somewhere in the middle of _Trost_. During the entire journey here, Nac had seemed rather nervous and a little reluctant to follow Augus to the western side, even if he did carry on speaking as he usually did. However, instead of speaking about specific locations, Nac had told him about the rather bad reputation which the west side of _Trost_ had.

Apparently, the western side of _Trost_ was more prone to having violent crimes take place. Nac had explained that the relatively cooler temperature of the west side invited a whole lot of people to seek refuge there. Thugs, gang members, or even lowly bullies who liked picking on those weaker than them, the western side of the district had them all. Though Nac did add that there were more 'normal' people than the undesirables.

While he spoke about the western side during their walk there, Nac seemed somewhere between neutral and a little panicky, but when he saw, or much rather heard, that priest looking guy, his face noticeable contorted into a disgusted expression as he cringed, and Augus even noticed that his fingers were tightened around his book in what he assumed to be fear. "Dear lord… not one of them again…"

Turning to face Nac, the shorter boy raised an eyebrow, inviting Nac to explain what he meant by that. Nac seemed to notice, as he rubbed the back of his neck and turned to face him.

"This is one of the reasons why I'd prefer to avoid the west side of _Trost_ ," explained Nac. "Among most of the unsavoury things that I've mentioned, this side of the district is where the Church of the Walls prefer to operate."

"Church of the Walls?" questioned Mika, his tone showing hints of his surprise and disappointment. Nac seemed to pick up on that as he continued.

"Yeah. you never heard of em? Asked Nac, a brow raised in surprise, and it only increased when Mika shook his head. "Huh, well you're one of the lucky few. I guess they don't operate much in _Shiganshina_. Call em what you want, the Church of the Walls, Wallists, the Wall Cult, it's all the same to me."

Mika raised an eyebrow when he noticed that Nac's tone slowly began to shift from neutral/somewhat panicky to what he assumed to be a mild form of anger.

"You see, some people around here consider these Walls… these huge, fifty metre slabs of brick," continued Nac, and Mika was surprised to hear some venom in his voice. He didn't know the boy much, but in his experience with him, Mika had always heard Nac with a positive, upbeat tone, or at worst, a panicky, anxious or awkward one. So hearing him like this was rather jarring, to say the least. "They consider them their Gods, so to speak. Or at _least_ gifts which were granted to them by God himself. And they aren't exactly fond of people challenging that belief…"

Upon hearing that, Mika noted how the boy's facial features hardened as he gave a mild grimace, though the boy didn't ask him about it. Instead, Mika huffed in bewilderment. He knew that this world was different from his, but he didn't expect it to be _this_ much different… this much more… _primitive_ , to believe that something was as basic as a fifty metre wall, despite its impressive size, to be a gift from God… it was baffling to say the least.

"That's pathetic," was all Mika could say. And Nac simply looked down at him.

"I second that," he said, surprising Mika yet again as he didn't expect Nac to agree on something negative regarding anyone. Still, he didn't bring it up as Tias led them away from the lone Wall Cultist. Nac didn't stop talking about them, however. "Those Wall Priests, they tend to babble on about stuff regarding the Walls, most of the time telling the _Garrison_ to remove those 'impurities'," Nac used air quotes when he said that. "From the tops of their 'Gods'."

Nac was being rather indirect with his wording, but Mika could make a rather educated guess on what he meant by impurities on the tops of the Walls.

"Those guys also tend to leave _offerings_ for those blasted Walls," grumbled Nac, and his tone took a rather drastic shift from unsavoury to downright hateful when he said that, something which made Mika raise an eyebrow. "Those bastards… they have enough guts to leave stuff like meat in front of those blasted Walls… not even allowing us to take it, letting that food, food that's scarce enough as it is, go to waste, just to please some imaginary God of theirs!"

For a moment, Mika was left staring at Nac in a mild form of shock, not expecting the sudden change in his tone. He have never seen the boy sound this mad before, at least not when he was speaking of random topics before now. Nac also seemed to be surprised at how much heat was in his tone, as the boy cleared his throat, his face red in embarrassment.

"S-Sorry about that…" he apologised, scratching the back of his neck as he forced a smile and a chuckle. "Got kinda carried away with my ramblings… forgive me…"

Mika simply huffed and nodded as the two continued to walk towards the western side of _Trost_. During the walk, Nac was unexpectedly quiet. Mika could only assume that he was thinking about his sudden outburst of ramblings regarding the Wallists, and for some unexpected reason, he could help but feel a small bit of _worry_ for the taller boy. He didn't voice that thought out, however.

In an effort to distract himself from his rather strange thoughts, Mika busied his mind by looking around the west side of _Trost_. It worked relatively well, as the amount of stalls around the place helped pull his attention away from his strange thoughts.

Most of the stalls which the two came across sold mainly food items, carrots, corn, some big, green, oval shaped thing which Mika had never seen before (watermelon). The variety did impress Mika to a certain extent, though he did note that none of them sold any kind of meat products, leading him to believe that meat wasn't exactly a commodity around here. The stall owners kept calling out to anyone within their sights, trying to goad them into buying whatever they had. None spared him nor Nac a second glance when they realized they weren't giving up their cash.

Their walk had more or less ended when the two of them reached a rather sizable lagoon filled almost to it's brim. It was at about thirty metres wide and was most likely filled with more rainwater, piss and other unsavoury fluids than actual fresh water. From where he and Nac stood, both of them could very easily make out what was on the other side of the lagoon, most notable to Mika as being the fields where he would often go to work in, though he did also spot a couple of larger buildings which seemed to be warehouses. The only actual way to get across (aside from swimming) was to walk through a wooden bridge which had no handrails, one which Mika used to cross on an almost daily basis.

"Welp, no real reason to cross over," muttered Nac, making Mika look at him. "I'm sure you already know what's on that side anyways. Fields and whatnot."

Mika simply shrugged at that, somewhat agreeing with Nac. After all, he would only come this way if he wanted to get to work on planting stuff, so there was no reason for him to bother learning any more of the layout of the area in front of them. That, and admittedly, he was getting a little tired from all that non stop walking. "Sure."

With that said, both Nac and Mika turned on their heels and began trekking back to the Carolina household. For a rather long moment, neither of them spoke, at least until Nac cleared his throat, catching Mika's attention.

"Hey, erm, Mika," he started, drumming his fingers over the side of his arm in a somewhat nervous fashion. "I know it's not exactly polite to ask this… but I was wondering… how was life like in _Shiganshina_?"

Upon hearing that, Mika had unintentionally thought of _Tekkadan_ once more, and rather abruptly, he was hit with a rather strong wave of emotion which caused him to slow his walking a little. Not by much, but enough that Nac took notice.

"I… I didn't mean to bring up and unpleasant memories," he apologised, stopping in his tracks so as to let Mika catch up. "I… was just curious."

"I know," was Mika's response as he began walking up to Tias. When he was beside him, he glanced up at Nac with a slight edge, making the taller boy look away in shame. "You were curious. I can't blame you for that."

"I guess… but it's not exactly my right to ask you something you're clearly not comfortable with," stated Nac, crossing his arms as he turned away from his acquaintance. "You don't have to answer if you don't feel like it."

Amused, Mika gave a huff. He didn't exactly know how to answer Nac, but he was curious as to where this conversation would lead. So, in an attempt to keep it going, he asked, "Why do you want to know, anyways?"

"Oh… erm… well," muttered Nac, clearly surprised that Mika had asked such a question. "I've just heard a lot of things involving _Maria_ and _Shiganshina_ in the past, ya know… enough to make me a _little_ curious…"

"What kind of stuff?" questioned Mika, deciding to have a shot at starting a conversation with the boy for a change.

"Well…" muttered Nac, looking a little unsure on if he should continue. But he eventually settled on doing so. "Not much pleasent… I'm afraid. I heard that before they were breached, _Shiganshina_ was considered the most unpleasant district in all the Walls…"

"And why is that?"

"I… haven't heard too much talk about it. Most of the time we tend to talk about the going ons within our district instead of those around us," admitted Nac rather sheepishly. "But what little I've heard is worrying… like how the amount of kidnappers in _Shiganshina_ is a lot higher than the amount which are assumed to be in _Trost_ , or how crime rates tend to be higher there than in both _Maria_ and _Trost_ …"

If he were honest, Mika suspected that Nac was worried for him. The taller boy's tone backed up that thought, though he wasn't a hundred percent sure. Still, he ignored it and thought of something else.

' _The way he talks about it… reminds me a little of_ Chryse _,'_ thought the boy, huffing. And that was when he got an idea.

"Life in… _Shiganshina_ wasn't easy," said Mika, glancing up at his acquaintance, whom in turn looked at Mika, a little surprised that he responded. "I spent most of my childhood alone on the streets. When I grew older, I met a kid, a friend who stuck with me through thick and thin. And the rest is history."

Upon hearing that, Nac gave a rather solemn nod. Mika hadn't said much, but it was enough to tell Nac the basics on his younger years.

It wasn't the entire truth, obviously. Mika had used his younger life in _Chryse_ to mold a somewhat convincing history for himself here. But Nac didn't seem to realize that he was just told an elaborate lie, so Mika didn't bother adding in more details to hide that fact.

"This… friend of yours," muttered Nac, drumming his fingers against his upper arm a little more now as he was entering a rather risky conversation topic, at least to him. "Was he… close?"

"He was practically a brother," replied Mika, and unlike most of his things he told either Nac or Mina, where he would have to stretch the truth or outright lie, the boy was entirely upfront on what he said. Orga was indeed as close to him as a brother.

"I see…" muttered Nac. After that was said, he found it best to not press the matter any further, instead staying silent for the rest of the journey back to the house.

Mika was rather thankful for the silence however, as he was feeling that strange, gut feeling in his stomach once more. It was a lot more noticeable now, and he didn't know why, but he felt as though he was warming up to Nac just a bit more.

Turning ever so slightly to look at Nac with a raised brow, the shorter boy couldn't help but give a huff.

' _Am I… am I just getting soft?'_

* * *

 **Two days later**

If Mika knew anything, it would be that change wouldn't happen in one day, not even two… or perhaps even in a week. However, Nac was directing him onto a steady path of believing the complete opposite of that statement.

Ever since his outing to the West side of _Trost_ and him sharing just a small bit of himself with the taller boy, Mika had found himself feeling a little weird whenever he was around either Nac or Mina. At first, he wasn't sure what it was, but he eventually realized that he was developing some form of _compassion_ towards his new acquaintances, minus Annie as he had yet to really know her at all.

At first he didn't really pay attention to this newfound sense of compassion. But as time went on, he did express it to a certain degree, in his own way of course, by actually replying to Nac and Mina when they were trying to start a conversation. It wasn't exactly much, but it was how he usually showed compassion, however sparse, to others. Shino had always harkened it to something he called 'tough love'.

Unlike when he first met Nac, Mika would actually make a somewhat conscious effort in starting a conversation with the boy. It wasn't much, though, as Nac was almost always the one to start one up, but he was trying. The same could be applied to Mina.

Despite not having it confirmed, Mika had a hunch that Nac had told Mina and Annie, and possibly even the older Carolina, about what little Mika had told him about his 'history' in _Shiganshina_. Mika wasn't a hundred percent sure, but the occasional pitying looks he got from Mina made him suspect so.

Even with this newfound sense of compassion, however, Mika was still not actively trying to make any friends, so his relationships with both Nac and Mina, while somewhat better than before, remained relatively the same, with neither being considered anything much more than acquaintances, and with Annie being considered even less so. His daily routine also had no changes, with him going to the field every so often for farming experiences and occasional free food.

On this particular day, Mika had went to the fields on his own. Mina was not free at the moment as she was off with Annie to 'collect firewood'. Mika didn't need anyone to explain what that meant to him.

During his field work, Mika did learn about some sorta orange fruit which was, unimaginatively, called an 'orange', and some long, green thing which was called a 'papaya', which he considered to be among the more imaginative names for a fruit. He wasn't fortunate enough to be able to taste any of them.

Once the day was over and his field work had ended, Mika wasted no time in heading back to the Carolina household, a place where he was slowly starting to consider to be his home. Sure, it wasn't as homey as _Tekkadan_ , probably never will be, but at least there, Mika felt some form of camaraderie amongst two of the four residents. That, and it was, at least, better than staying in that barn with his silent _Mobile Suit_ as his only source of company.

On this day, his field work had ended relatively late. Most of the time, he would be let out when the sun was still up, perhaps around six to seven in the evening (or somewhere around that time). Now, however, he had a feeling that it was close to nine at night. The darkness made it somewhat of an issue to travel back to the Carolina household, but he managed it (or at least managed to get 25% of the way to the house), even if he did unintentionally walk in a circle a couple of times.

During his walk back, however, Mika heard a rather aggressive sound coming from a rather dark alley. It sounded similar to a voice. At first, he was fully intending on ignoring it, until he heard another, more familiar one. It took him a second or two to realize that the scared, practically petrified, voice coming from the alley was Nac.

And that was what made him investigate, if only out of curiosity, or perhaps out of a mild form of worry. He knew that Nac considered the west side of _Trost_ to be unsafe… so why come here, alone no less. The boy had a feeling that he was just hearing things, but it wouldn't hurt to have a look.

"You _really_ think that the Military Brigade would pick _you_ of all people?!" came that aggressive voice once more when Mika had just reached a corner. The voice sounded rather young, and it's rather pompous tone led Augus to believe him to be some guy who thought himself above others. He's heard that horrible self assured tone enough times in his 'previous life' to be sure. "The Military needs _muscle_ , not… whatever you have."

"W-Well…" came a new voice, weaker, and even from where he stood, Mika could distinctively tell that it belonged to Nac. Pressing his back against the edge of the alley, Mika spared a peek, and he immediately spotted Nac on the ground, his back against the alley wall, with three rather pompous looking boys standing before him. All three of them were about the same height, though Mika noted that one of the three wore glasses.

"I… I think they'd need some brains too… y-you know? For… s-strategies… someone like H-Hanji… muttered Nac, looking as though he were choosing his words extremely carefully. However, it seemed as though he had not, as the boy in the middle of the three, the presumed leader to Augus, immediately seized the collar of his shirt and lifted him up to eye level. And even then, Nac had to be on one knee just to stare him in the eye.

"Listen, you're nothing more than a heretic," said the boy, sounding as though he stated a fact, his tone dripping with false friendliness as he went on. "The Military Brigade doesn't need any more of those. That, and you'd be useless in battle. Hanji may be an excessively smart freak, but she can fight, unlike _you_. Best to give up while you're ahead, don't you agree?"

Opening his mouth, Nac seemed willing to argue, but he closed it and looked down as though he were seriously considering those words. The boy holding his collar thought he was about to agree and loosened his grip on Tias' collar, until a rather fiery glint reappeared in the taller boy's eye. "N-No… I don't. I may be useless in a fight, but there's m-more to being a soldier than combat…"

"Like what?" demanded the boy who had him by the collar, shaking Nac in his grip as though he were trying to force a thought into his head. "TELL ME?! BECOME TITAN BAIT?!"

Nac seemed to intend on replying, but one of the other boys cut him off. The bespectacled boy, apparently, who propped his glasses up as he spoke. "Face it, Nac, you're nothing more than Titan Bait. An Outside World loving person has no place among the Military Brigade, unless you intend on joining those blasted _Scouts_."

 _Scouts_ … Mika supposed that was an alternate name for those _Survey Corps_ which Nac occasionally told him about. He knew that Nac had some passion for them. And it was confirmed when the boy let out an audible groan.

"I… don't see a p-problem with wanting to join them…" he muttered, before his tone went hard. "To me, t-they're Heroes! The very ones who sacrifice life, limb and sanity in their Expeditions!"

When those words were uttered, however, Mika had heard a rather loud **thud**. It made him widen his eyes a tad as he peeked around the corner, only to see that Nac now had a sizable bruise on his right cheek along with some blood coming out of his right nostril. And just seeing that made Mika feel uncharacteristically worried, and furious.

The bruise was most definitely caused by the boy who had him by the collar, who simply rubbed the hand he used to inflict the wound on his shirt in an almost disgusted manner. As for Nac, he gave an expression which told Augus that he was doing his best to hold back pained tears.

"Heroes, what good are Heroes when they can't even do their jobs correctly?" he mumbled, just barely loud enough for Mika to hear. "They are _not_ Heroes, dummy. They're nothing more than Titan food… and you'd best remember that."

When he said that, the boy seemed ready to let Nac go, but the taller boy said one thing which changed his mind.

"Just because they can't get the job done… doesn't mean they're not Heroes," he muttered, making all three boy's, and Mika, look at him in surprise. "Heroes… inspire hope in those around them…"

His response was a self assure snort from the boy who held his collar. "Hope, eh? Maybe _false_ hope… ah well, guess we'll have to beat some sense into you again, huh?"

With those words said, the boy had raised his arm up once more to, in his own words, 'beat some sense into Nac'. However, Mika decided that he had seen and heard enough. Stepping out from the corner he was hiding in, Augus quickly closed the gap between him and the boy holding Nac by the collar. It took him three large steps, but he managed to get up close and intercept the boy's arm, stopping it dead in the air when it was about two inches away from connecting with Nac's face once more.

Upon doing so, Mika inadvertently gained the attention of all four boys. The one who had his arm stopped had a bewildered look on his face while the other two just stared in shock, as though Mika had done the impossible. Nac, on the other hand, had his eyes wide and mouth so agape that it looked somewhat comical. Mika, however, kept his expression neutral as he forced the boy's arm down, making the boy in question wince as he did.

"What's this arm doing?" he demanded, his voice neutral, though hints of anger were shining through and his gaze threatened to burn two holes into the boy's skull. To back his question up, Mika gave the arm which he held a tight squeeze, enough to cut off the circulation, and _almost_ enough to break it, causing the boy to immediately let go of Nac's collar and try to pry Mika's hand off to little success.

"Hey! Get off him!" proclaimed one of the two whom were with the kid, the one who wore glasses. And the bespectacled kid wasted no time in attempting to remove Mika's by force. The boy shot a fist forward to strike Mika, who simply caught it in mid air. Nothing much more than a mild push with was all it took to send the kid landing on his butt rather harshly, and acted as a strong indication to how he was severely outclassed.

"I asked," continued Mika, speaking as though nothing had happened, squeezing the arm much tighter, cutting off all blood circulation to the limb and forcing the boy in his grip to yell in agony, and if a little more pressure were to be applied, his forearm would be snapped. For his part, Mika cared not. This guy hurt Nac, rather severely too. He was getting no pity from him. " _What_ is this hand doing?"

"N-Nothing!" was all which the boy could come up with as his captured hand slowly turned purple, making Mika huff. Typical… the standard 'bully'. He's met a couple of them back in _Chryse_. They usually picked on those who were 'weak' or different from them, though if someone who was tougher than them came knocking, they would be out in an instant.

The boy who had his arm ensnared by Augus seemed close to fainting while his two companions were still over by the sides, looking unsure on if they should help or not after seeing his show of power. Mika made that decision for them by releasing the arm in his grip, causing the boy to fall back and hold his arm in pain, though he did spare Mika one horrified stare as he did.

"Get lost," commanded Mika, his gaze as hostile as before, and the three boys left without much hassle, running with their tails between their legs like most people whom Mika had confronted physically in his younger days. When they were out of sight, Mika let his gaze soften a tad before he turned to glance at Nac, who looked somewhat mixed in the emotion category.

The most obvious emotion, to Mika anyways, was shock. Shocked at Mika appearing out of the blue to save his ass, and most likely because did as well. In truth, Mika was still a little confused at why he actually stepped in. All he knew was that he felt a strong urge to help the boy, and he had followed that it.

However, underneath all that shock which was reflected in that look in Nac's eyes was something else. Mika didn't exactly know what it was at the moment, so he ignored it as he extended a hand towards the taller boy. It took him a while to notice it, perhaps two seconds, before he accepted the hand and allowed Mika to haul him up onto his feet. And despite being much shorter than him, Mika was able to get him back up onto both feet without much issue.

"...are you alright?" asked Mika when Nac was up. It was a rather stupid question on his part, as he knew that Nac was _not_ alright in any sense of the term, if the huge bruise on his cheek and the still flowing streak of blood coming from his nose was any indication. However, Nac nodded a tad and coughed into his palm.

"I… I'm fine," he muttered, only to wobble a little, prompting Mika to step forward in case he fell. Thankfully, he stayed upright, trying to stop the bleeding from his nose. "M-Mika… h-how… nevermind…"

"I was walking back home," answered Mika flatly, only to step forth and help Tias when he nearly fell forward. "And heard you."

"That's… pretty convenient…" muttered Nac in an attempt at sarcasm despite their current situation. "And you must be wondering why I'm here…?" Mika nodded, and Nac went on. "I… wanted to just meet you along the way. Thought… it'd be nice for us to just head back together…"

That was… nice? Yes, it was nice… but rather stupid of Nac. The chances of him finding Mika was rather low, and him getting into trouble was apparently very much higher than the chances he would have in the eastern side. Despite his mild appreciation towards Nac, however, he did not tell him as he stayed silent, prompting the boy to speak up.

"We… should go," muttered Nac as he rubbed his bruised cheek and took a rather harsh sniff which cause the blood to disappear up his nostril, making Mika nod in agreement.

Like their first outing to the West side, Nac led the way back to the Carolina residence. Unlike their first outing, however, Nac was uncommonly silent during the duration of the walk. Mika did the same, though he did consider speaking up on several occasions, only to go against his instinct and stay silent.

Right when they got back to the Carolina Residence, Nac went straight up to his shared room and secluded himself inside for a rather worryingly long time. Mika, instead, sat down on the couch as he usually did and draped his _Tekkadan_ jacket over his shoulders like a blanket.

For a long moment, Mika simply sat downstairs, quiet. Despite himself, Mika found that he was thinking more of Nac than he was of _Tekkadan_ this night. Looking towards the stairs which led up to the second floor, Mika felt his insides tangle up with a small form of sympathy. Sympathy towards what had happened to Nac, and perhaps some curiosity towards why.

After some time, Augus decided to at least check on Tias to make sure he was alright. Standing up, the boy went up the stairwell, causing the stairs to squeak rather loudly under his weight. Mika didn't pay it any mind as he wasn't trying to mask his approach in any way.

Once he was up top, Mika saw that the door to Mina, Nac and Annies shared room was wide open. Moving towards it, Mika took a slight peak in and saw that Nac had his rear planted firmly onto his bed. His eyes seemed rather red and puffy, telling Augus that he had been crying for some time, and his book was under his rather small pillow. A couple of blood stained tissues laid scattered all over the floor, telling Augus that he was trying to quell the bleeding.

For a short moment, Mika simply peaked in on Nac, not making any move to disturb him. Nac, for his part, didn't seem to notice Augus, simply looking down at the floor, eyes red and his nose still sniffing. During this time, however, Mika felt his insides tangle up with a rather large amount of sympathy for the boy. He did his best to ignore it, but in the end, he could not. Despite his rather tough exterior, Mika was still human. And even he couldn't resist human emotion. It was just in a human's nature to feel worried for someone they consider at least an acquaintance.

Moving into the room, Mika moved to stand in front of Nac, who gave no indication of noticing. An eyebrow raised, Mika knelt down so he was looking Nac at eye level.

"Oi, Nac," he said while snapping his fingers in front of Nac's face, making the taller boy glance up in surprise as though he had just noticed Mika.

"M-Mika-San?!" proclaimed Nac, recoiling back a little in shock and straightening himself up a little as Mika stood. The boy was clearly surprised to see him here. "W-What're you doing here… and when d-did you even get here? And… for how long?"

"Not long ago," replied Augus, ignoring the other two questions as he moved over to take a seat on Mina's bed, just opposite of Nac and straight in front of him. For a moment, Mika simply stared at his acquaintance, who seemed more fidgety than when he first saw him in the room. It took a while, but Nac eventually spoke up.

"...why are you here, anyways?" he asked, making Mika raise an eyebrow.

"I wanted to check on you," was his reply, something which made Nac raise his brows in what he thought to be shock. But it went away rather quickly as he nodded.

"That's… oddly nice of you," admitted Nac, smiling a little, only to wince and rub his cheek, an action which managed to make Augus flinch in slight worry. Though it faded once Nac lower his hand. "I… I'm guessing that you're also wondering who that guy was, huh?"

"... a little," admitted Mika, and Nac thought he was just hearing something, but he thought that Mika seemed at least a _little_ sheepish when he said it. He ignored it, however, as it seemed a little too subtle, and tapped his fingers together.

"Well, it's a little complicated," muttered Nac, cupping his hands together rather nervously. "You… remember how I told you that the West side of _Trost_ was home to more of the undesirable types of people… killers, gang members… and bullies?"

A nod from Mika prompted him to continue, though the boy did let out a sigh beforehand.

"Like I said… it's complicated," repeated Nac, cupping his hands together and looking down. He stayed that way for a good few minutes before looking up at Augus, a little unsure but still willing to go on. "You know how secrets… they don't tend to stay as such for too long. Given enough time, and a secret will become public knowledge…"

"You secretly like something," concluded Mika, and Nac chuckled at that, amused that he figured that out so quickly.

"Exactly…" muttered Tias with a nod. "It's… if you don't know by now… I have an interest in the outside world…"

Mika's response was a gentle huff through his nostrils as he nodded. That much he could figure out thanks to the scraps of paper which littered the room floor. He never took time to actually read them, but he did catch a few words from time to time, such as the repeated use of _ocean_ or _blades of grass_ on occasions.

For his part, Nac seemed surprised at how nonchalantly Mika was taking this new bit of information. He quickly shrugged it off, however, and continued after clearing his throat.

"How long have you known?" asked Tias a little guardedly, and Mika shrugged.

"A week or two," answered the boy, and Nac could only hold back a chuckle in response.

"Well… you can say that my most closely guarded secret got out," continued Nac, tapping his fingers together in an awkward manner. "I… I mean, it's not like I don't trust you or anything! It's just that I hardly speak to anyone about this… only Ms Carolina, Mina and Annie knew before now… "

Nac's tone told Mika that he wasn't too comfortable on talking about his interest. It was strange to him, as he felt that no one should be uncomfortable when speaking about something they liked, at least to those who shared their interest or didn't mind listening anyways. However, Nac's tone reminded the shorter boy of his old CGS days. Back then, he remembered hearing a similar tone from Takaki or Ride when they did something which the First Core did not approve of, giving Mika a slight thought, one which he voiced out almost immediately.

"Oi, Nac," said Mika, making Nac blink and look at him. "The way you talk about the outside, it sounds like being interested in it isn't a good thing."

"That's the point," admitted Nac, looking somewhat sheepish as he spoke. "It's not exactly healthy to be as interested in the outside world as I am, at least within the confines of this district… I heard that… before it fell… _Maria_ and all her districts usually held a lot of people like me."

"Those who're interested in the outside?" asked Mika. He had a feeling that he already knew the answer to that, but he decided that it'd be interesting to let the taller boy humored him.

"Yep," replied Nac. "From what I know, the Wallists don't operate outside the Walls of _Rose_ or her districts that much… or they didn't, considering current circumstances. That, and they probably don't have as many supporters out there. But within _Rose_ and _Sina_ , they have quite a lot of support from the locals… up to the point where some people are openly hostile to people like me…"

It didn't take a genius to get that someone like Nac, a person who was heavily interested in the outside world, was not exactly liked around these parts of the Walls, and Mika picked up on that fact rather quickly. And based on what he had both saw and heard previously, it was apparently a normal thing, at least for Nac, to be attacked by people who did not like them.

"Hey, Mika… I've got a slight question for ya…" piped up Nac, knocking Mika out of his trance-like state and causing him to stare at the taller boy, who now looked close to a minor panic attack. Mika took note of that, though he didn't think too much about it. "I'm curious ...what do you think of my… interests?"

"I'm fine with it," said Mika, his gaze softening a little when Nac asked. He didn't exactly care as Nac's interest did not affect him in the slightest, so he didn't have any negative opinions towards it. However, Mika didn't feel like leaving it off there as, for some reason, the boy didn't find it right to not reassure Nac in some way. "But it doesn't matter what _I_ think, Nac."

"...what do you mean by that?" asked Nac, sounding curious with both his brows raised. Mika simply scratched the back of his neck, silently cursing himself for becoming as soft as he has, before he continued on, improvising every word he would come to say.

"I mean that it doesn't matter what I, or anyone else, think," replied Augus, resting both his arms on his thighs as he slouched forward a little. "Other people may think that your interests are weird, and they may attack you for it, but at the end of the day, it's you who's interested in it, not them. It's _your_ life, Nac, not theirs. Don't go changing yourself just because _they_ want you to."

When he finished, Mika found Nac staring at him with wide eyes and his mouth slightly agape, as though Mika had done the impossible. Mika, on the other hand, simply raised an eyebrow, confused as, in his mind, he did nothing more than speak what he believed to be the truth. After all, it never did matter what anyone else thought about Nac liked. All that mattered was that he himself liked it.

Of course, there were certain things which did not fall under this category, but it was best to not speak of those… _things_.

"I…" muttered Nac, sounding close to tears as he spoke, and it he did break down a little, though he quickly wiped at his eyes before he could properly weep. "S-Sorry about that… I guess I just really needed to hear that…"

"Ah," replied Mika with a nod, and Nac gave a smile.

"Thanks, Mika," he said, and the boy in question had to turn away. For an unknown reason, he was currently feeling an uncharacteristically high amount of embarrassment. However, he quickly got over it and stood up.

"You're welcome," he said with a nod as he headed towards the door to leave the room. Though Nac stopped him before he could leave.

"M-Mika-San," he piped up, making the boy in question turn to face him. Nac seemed reluctant to go on, but he sucked up all his courage and did so anyway. "I… I want to know one more thing… i-if you would be so kind."

"I'm all ears," replied Mika, still maintaining eye contact with the taller boy.

"Why… why did you help be back then?" asked Nac, and Mika gave a gruff huff when he did.

"I…" muttered Mika, trailing off as he had no definitive answer, eventually breaking eye contact and turning his back against Nac. "I don't know… I just felt like it I guess."

"I see…" muttered Nac as he gave a nod. "Well, either way, you just saved my ass from an ass whooping… so thanks."

Turning once more, Mika saw that Nac was flashing him his signature, friendly smile. He also noted that Nac seemed to be sitting up straighter, his right fist was close to where his heart would be while his left arm was behind his back in an almost salute-like manner. Mika didn't know what to make of it, but gave a nod to acknowledge Nac's thanks before leaving the room.

' _You were right, Mina… Mika-San is like Annie… he's lonely…'_ thought Nac once Mika was gone, dropping his rather forced 'Military Brigade salute' and placing a hand onto his bruised cheek. _'Hopefully we can help him… just like how we helped Annie…'_

And finally, he sighed and yelped a tad when he unintentionally applied too much pressure on his bruised cheek.

' _Now… how am I gonna explain this to Carolina-San…'_

* * *

 **Boom, I'm back.**

 **Two updates in a row. That's unexpected, even for me. Didn't expect to update this so soon :P**

 **Anyways, hopefully you enjoyed this one. As I mentioned in the previous chapter, the next handful of chapters will not have Barbatos. We needa have some character development (at least I hope I'm developing them properly).**

 **And if you're wondering, I did kinda recycle the first chapter of** _ **Iron Blooded Heroes**_ **a little for this. Just putting that out there.**

 **Now I have 2 updates I'd like to throw out, so bear with me**

 **UPDATE #1** **: NOW, despite me being a side character lover, I somehow managed to forget about Hanji's assistant, Moblit. I realized that a little too late, and when I did, I went back to edit Chapters 3-5, most notably C3.**

 **UPDATE #2** **: not too long ago, I got the AOT 2 game. Technically my sister got it, but you get the point. A lot of new ideas popped up for me while I was playing that game, so expect some ideas from there to be implemented here.**

 **And that's basically all. Onto the 2 reviews I've got.**

 **Glasses Writer: I guess I really am that predictable and hopefully this chapter of characters messing with each other is alright for ya :P**

 **CrazyCriticer46: ah shucks. Thanks man :)**

 **Aight see ya in… whatever story I update after this? Yeah, that works.**

 **Not too long after the end of C7**

* * *

"Hey, Mika?"

"Hm?"

"I was wondering if you were interested in hearing about the… outside?"

With a raised eyebrow, Mika shrugged as he adjusted his position on the bed he was sitting on. He gave a nod, and Nac immediately went ahead to speak to him about the outside. He spoke of everything he knew, which were essentially things which Mika himself knew about thanks to his time on his earth.

Not too long after Nac started, Mina joined in and told Mika about the stuff _she_ knew about the outside. And not too long after, Annie came in to listen to Mika be barraged by information.

To his immense credit, Mika listened to Nac and Mina for hours on end. They spoke for hours upon hours, speaking all the way into nightfall, close to eleven at night. By then, Annie had fallen asleep on the top bunk of the bed she shared with Mina. Mina spoke herself to sleep by the time eleven came by, and Nac himself called it a day when twelve rolled by.

"And that mostly sums it up, the beginner stuff anyways…" muttered an exhausted Nac as he yawned and laid down on his bed. Mika himself huffed and nodded before standing and exiting the room, leaving the three to sleep.


	8. Leonhardt

Friendship was always something which Mika never thought he'd be able to explore anywhere beyond what he had already experienced during his time with _Tekkadan_ /CGS.

It wasn't exactly his fault that for not being interested in the concept of friendship. In fact, Mika remembered a time when he was actually willing to be friendly around others. However, as time went by, he realized that with his… 'occupation' as a child soldier, friendships were next to meaningless. The survival rates of children that went into combat were not high, and having friends only meant that if they died, you have to deal with the loss.

In response to losing a couple of people he deemed as 'friends' during his early CGS days or being betrayed by others who considered themselves as such, Mika had shut himself off, unintentionally making him an antisocial prick. The only person he considered a friend was Orga, with everyone else being considered no more than acquaintances (though there was one exception). And he had occasionally wondered if it would stay that way forever.

The boy only stopped wondering not too long before Kudelia had hired CGS as her escorts to earth, deeming it a redundant topic by then. However, he ended up wondering once more after that incident with Nac.

Ever since that night, Mika found his cold demeanor falter a little. It wasn't too much, but it was enough for him to warm up to his new… acquaintances. The boy still wasn't too interesting in befriending them, but he wasn't against it anymore. And, admittedly, he was very slowly considering Tias and Mina to be more than simple acquaintances. Not friends, not yet. But they were getting a little closer with each passing day.

It was rather obvious to Augus that Nac had told everyone in the house about what happened that night, mainly because the next morning, Mina had ran up to him and asked if it had really happened and if it wasn't just a story Nac made up to entertain them. Mika gave the truthful answer, much to Nac's dismay. Still, it wasn't as though either Mika or Nac could've kept the incident a secret anyways. That bruise on Tias' cheek was practically impossible to hide unless he were to wear a mask, something Mika doubt the house had.

After Augus had told Mina and her mother (and by some extent, Annie), Mika noted that both Nac and Mina had started to look at him with new glints in their eyes. Mika was certain that he was wrong on his speculation, but he thought that Tias and Carolina were looking at him with some form of admiration. Again, he was certain that he was wrong, though.

For the most part, Nac seemed to be much more friendly and open whenever he spoke with Mika. Instead of trivia regarding the going ons in _Trost_ which Mika didn't care about, Nac was now boring Mikazuki with trivia regarding the outside… which Mika _also_ didn't care about. Of course, he still pretended to be interested in it just to humor the boy. Admittedly, the boy didn't mind listening to Tias talk about the outside. Unlike the going ons in _Trost_ , Mika was actually somewhat interested in information regarding the outside.

Sure, the information which Nac had presented to him was most likely not 100% correct, but Mika never really was the kinda guy to care about accuracy (unless it came to guns, food or combat), so he didn't really mind.

Mika had also began following Nac out into _Trost_ ever since that incident. It may have been because he was bored, but Augus had a feeling that it was because of his newfound liking towards the taller boy. According to Nac, having Mika beside him gave him enough motivation to travel to the west side of _Trost_ much more often.

As for Mina, she stayed the same as she usually was, for the most part. The girl was as friendly as she always was even before the incident with Nac, often trying her best to start a conversation with Augus and, much more recently, doing her best to make him smile. It wasn't that successful, but Mina never gave up.

The most noticeable thing which both Mina and Nac were doing ever since that day, however, was the two of them trying their absolute hardest to get the two blue eyed, emotionless, silent residents of the Carolina Residence to befriend each other. And to say that it was one of the hardest things they've tried going in their lives would be an understatement.

While Mika was no longer against the idea of making friends, he was still uninterested in the concept. And Annie seemed to have a similar mindset. Neither one of the blue eyed kids would even spare a glance at the other intentionally, and whenever they met, they'd just ignore one another and move on. The few times when they were together intentionally were planned by Mina and Nac in an effort to get them to befriend one another, or at the very least get acquainted.

These get togethers always ended in several minutes of awkward silence before one of them left the other, usually Annie, though Mika did walk off on at least one instance. Despite their indifference towards each other, however, Mika and Annie did wonder when Nac and Mina would give up on their quest to get them to befriend each other. If they were honest, it was getting a little annoying, the only thing which they agreed on at the moment.

For the longest time, Mina and Nac's plans to get the two blue eyed, antisocial kids to at least get acquainted with each other never seem work, at least until Annie told Mina a request from Bertholdt and Reiner after she came back from a trip from their home.

* * *

"... so your friends want to meet me?"

Mikazuki's quick response from Mina was a happy nod as she smiled immensely and cupped her hands together. "Reiner and Bertholdt told us that they're interested in meeting you!"

"Did you tell them about me?" asked Mika. The boy could guess that either she or Nac did. It could have been Annie, but that was _very_ unlikely.

"Well duh!" replied Mina, smiling as she held up her index finger. "I told them about you and they said they were very interested in meeting you in person! I mean, they seem to like you, judging from how they looked after I told them about you. Reiner did seem impressed when Nac told him about how you saved him."

"Ah," muttered Mika with a nod after Mina was done, prompting Carolina to give a chuckle. She knew enough about Mika to know that he wasn't a prideful kid. Quite the opposite, and it was something she found enduring about Augus. For a moment, she was lost in thought, smiling as she cupped her cheeks in her hands, much to Mika's confusion.

"... Mina, are you alright?" questioned Mika after some time, prompting Mina to snap out of it and fix her gaze back on Augus, who was staring at her with a confused, and somewhat worried, expression. Her response was a shy nod and subtle blush. She hoped Mika didn't notice it, but she had a feeling that he did.

"I was wondering… could you _maybe_ go visit them?" said Mina, covering up her previous blunder with a small smile. Much to her relief, Mika seemed to either forget or not notice her red cheeks as he replied.

"I don't know how to get to them," he pointed out blankly, and his response was a few seconds of silence before Mina's small smile grew to twice its size.

"Well," began Mina, smiling brightly as she spoke. "That's simple to fix! Annie's going to visit them in a few days! Maybe you could go with her? You don't mind, right? I mean, Annie doesn't exactly like you that much… but she's a pretty nice person when you get to know her and all that."

Mika lowered his brows at that, seeming rather thoughtful. For a moment, Mina thought he would decline, but after a few seconds of silence, he nodded. "Alright."

Upon hearing that, Mina fistpumped triumphantly, much to Mika's confusion, before she gave sigh, confusing Augus even more.

' _Well, Mika's up for it… I hope Annie's just as willing.'_

* * *

 **Up top, in Mina, Nac and Annie's shared room**

"No."

"...no?" repeated Nac as he watched Annie pack another parka into a small bag which she would take to Bertholdt and Reiner's house in two or three days. Annie simple nodded as she forced the bag to zip. Over the past several few minutes, Leonhardt had stuffed a small bag she always brought to to Reiner and Bertholdt's home. She had packed her bag relative peace, at least until Nac came in to speak with her.

"No," she echoed, turning to fix Tias with a harsh glare which made him tense up. Nac was a smart boy, Annie knew. She thought that he was smart enough to drop the topic, but unfortunately Nac was not.

"Why?" asked Nac, sitting down on his bed as he did what he was (usually) best at, starting a conversation with a friend. Annie's respond was a rather sarcastic snort before replying.

"I have my reasons, Nac," she said coldly, turning to glare at her 'friend'. Nac, who was used to this by now, didn't flinch too much under her cold glare. Instead, he gave his most disarming smile. It wasn't exactly 'sexy', as Mina would put it. More of an innocent, almost adorable, smile. One which could make even Annie soften her gaze, if only for a moment.

"We're friends, Annie," said Nac with an assuring tone. "Family, even. You can share with me your reasons."

Annie had no reply, simply diverting her gaze away from Tias, prompting the boy to feel a small pang of worry.

"Annie… are you worried that you'd lose another friend… like… in the _Fall of Maria_?" asked Nac. He received no reply from Leonhardt, but he had a feeling that it was at least partially true. The small movements, such as how Annie seemed to be breathing heavier than usual or how she was not looking him in the eye, confirmed it to Tias.

' _She's scared…'_ thought Nac sympathetically, his usual, happy go lucky expression melting away, now replaced with a solemn, almost depressed mask. _'She doesn't want to feel the way she did during the Fall of_ Maria _…'_

For a long moment, Nac stayed silent while Annie did the same. After said moment was up, however, Nac looked up at Annie, giving her a sincere expression, prompting the blonde to raise an eyebrow in confusion.

"Annie… I know that you don't want to make any friends…" he said solemnly, not giving a smile like he usually did, something which unsettled Annie a tad as Nac was almost never this serious when speaking. Her surprise only heightened when the much taller boy approached her and placed both his hands on her shoulders. "But you can't stay like this. It's unhealthy for you. You think the best way to avoid the feeling of loss is to push everyone away…"

' _I don't…'_ thought Annie as she stared at Nac, whom she, alongside Mina, Reiner and Bertholdt, considered to be a proper friend. Nac seemed to notice this, however, and, not without some guilt, used it to his advantage.

"I know you let some of us in," he continued, shaking Annie in his grip as he did. The shorter girl retaliated by grasping his wrists and applying a mild amount of pressure on them, enough to make Nac wince and release her. Despite the pain, however, he still continued. "We know it must've been hard for you, to open your heart to me, Mina and Carolina-San… but you can't just stop with us. You gotta learn to open up to others, like Mika for example."

"Mikazuki isn't interested in making friends," pointed out Annie, hoping that this conversation would end at that. She was starting to feel guilty for reasons which were not related to the conversation topic, and she did not want to say anything important by accident. Despite this, she was a fool to think that Nac would let the topic slide so easily.

"Maybe, but I've had success with Mikazuki," said Nac, smiling a tad. "Mina too! I'm sure that you can make another friend if you just open up to him a little."

Clenching her fists, Annie narrowed her eyes at the taller boy in one final attempt to urge him to back off. Nac's eyes reflected some form of fear at that, but his sincere gaze and determination to make her gain another friend outweighed his fear. And by then, Annie knew that nothing would change Nac's mind. So, after closing her eyes, unclenching her fists and giving a defeated sigh, Annie lowered her head.

"... if he wants to follow, then fine," she grumbled, and Nac gave a mental fistpump.

"Alright!" he said, finally breaking out of his solemn expression and turning back to himself. It was almost a relief to Annie, honestly.

"But I'm not promising to befriend him," added Annie, making Nac slump once more, but he sighed and gave a nod.

"... fair enough," he muttered, sliding his hands into his pockets. "Well, Mina should be telling him now…"

And right as he said that, Mina barged into the room, smiling as she came to a stop in between Nac and Annie.

"Mika agreed to go so long as Annie wants him to!" she announced, a hint it triumph in her voice as she smiled. Annie raised an eyebrow while Nac chuckled.

"Well would ya look at that," said Nac, smiling as he placed both hands on his hips. "Mika's totally fine with it!"

"And you, Annie?" asked Mina, staring at her friend encouragingly. Averting her gaze towards Nac, the shortest person in the room wanted him to answer for her, but Nac didn't seem keen on that, instead jerking his chin towards Mina, telling her that she had to tell her friend on her own. So, with a sigh, Leonhardt nodded.

"... I'm fine with it," she said reluctantly. And mina gave an energetic fistpump in response. She would have yelled "YES!" if Nac had not slapped a hand over her mouth.

"So, when will you be taking your leave, Annie?" asked Nac while Mina pried his hand off her mouth. Annie simply sighed and replied.

"Tomorrow," she grumbled, pinching the bridge of her nose. "The faster this ends, the better."

Nac gave an uncertain chuckle and nodded in response, and Mina gave a thumbs up before leaving to inform Mika about Annie's decision. Though, despite her neutral expression, Annie, internally, felt rather uncertain about the upcoming trip.

' _You two care too much about me for your own good… even my own.'_

* * *

 **The next day**

If Leonhardt were honest, she was a little surprised at how quickly Mikazuki had packed everything he needed for the trip to Reiner and Bertholdt's house. Then again, he didn't have much to actually pack as he only had his jacket, a toothbrush and a bottle of water, both of which being bought by Ms Carolina not too long ago. He had all of it stuffed in his jacket, somehow. If she were honest, Annie was a little impressive at how little Mika had brought with him, at least when compared to her as she herself brought at least thrice as much as he did.

In the morning, about seven if one were to look at a clock, Annie had woken herself up rather early, perhaps too early as, if she remembered correctly, Reiner and Bertholdt were often asleep up till about ten in the morning, Bertholdt probably sleeping an hour more, though Leonhardt didn't really care about that. After all, Annie intended on leaving before Mika had woken up to avoid having to go with Augus.

Unfortunately for her, however, Mika was quite an early bird himself, something she'd find out when she saw that he was sitting on the couch in the living room, looking wide awake (the boy had woke up close to 5 in the morning for no particular reason), shocking Annie as she expected him to still be asleep.

When she got over her initial shock, the girl grouchily moved on to get herself ready to leave while Augus had watched her move with faint amusement, and by eleven in the morning, Nac, Mina and Ms Carolina were waving them off. Annie was somehow more enthusiastic than Mikazuki when it came to responding to Mina and Nac waving them off, mainly because she actually waved back while Augus just stared.

The walk to Reiner and Bertholdt's house was rather lengthy as the house was located near the western side of _Trost_. The trip involved taking several abrupt turns, crossing two bridges and, near the end of the trip, entering a small, forested area. The two encountered several interesting members of the community during their walk, including several Wallists, a handful of marketers who tried selling things to them or, Annie's personal favourite, a donut stand, though unfortunately for her she didn't bring enough money to get one.

Aside from the general scenery and people whom they saw on the way to their destination, Annie found one thing rather interesting. And that was Mika himself. When they left the Carolina residence, she had expected him to start a conversation topic. She had long suspected that Mikazuki's silent nature was just a facade to look cool in front of people and that, when alone, he'd just devolve into a bumbling idiot who tried to impress others only to end up making a fool of himself, much like how Nac was when he was much younger, at least according to Mina. Sure, Nac did say that Mika was silent, even when alone with just another person, much like she was, but Annie was still convinced that it was still a facade.

But instead of that, what she got was the same, silent, emotionless, cold gaze wearing boy which she had grown used to walking by and for Nac/Mina to tell her to befriend. But that wasn't the thing which surprised her to most. On occasion, Annie would steal quick glances at Mikazuki to see if anything about him had changed. She usually saw that that practically nothing changed, as his expression remained passively neutral, and for some currently unknown reason, it put her on edge.

Perhaps it was because of those eyes of his, but whatever the reason, Annie felt that there was something up with Mikazuki Augus. Those eyes of his… they didn't just tell her that he was close to being an emotionless husk. They looked as though they belonged more on a trained killer and not on a teenager. They also told her that he was hiding something. There was an odd glint in his eyes which gave that fact away, but Annie couldn't be 100% sure on what it could be.

There was, however, one thing she could at least be somewhat certain of, and that was that Mikazuki Augus seemed, somewhat like her, lonely. As though he had closed his heart out to the world after suffering a tremendous amount of loss, and for a currently unknown reason, it made Annie feel both guilty _and_ pity for the kid.

' _We should have turned back when we had the chance…'_ she thought, before shaking that thought out of her mind. No, that wouldn't be possible. The deed had already been done. No point on dwelling on the consequences now, of all times.

Doing her best to ignore the thoughts that lingered in a corner of her mind for the duration of the walk, Leonhardt and Augus eventually made it to a decently sized house. It was about half the size of the Carolina residence, with only a single floor and a small window. It looked rather shabby, even by Mika's standards, from the outside.

Wasting no time, Annie raised her hand up towards the door, balled it up into a fist, and gave it three firm knocks which were enough to make the entire door shake. Their response was a few moments of silence before the ground below them shook a tad. And within seconds, the door swung inwardly open rather abruptly, something which made neither blue eyed child flinch, though Mika did blink at the sudden movement.

The one who swung the door open stood at about Akihiro's height and was probably just as buff. Perhaps a little less, if Mika were honest. He had blonde hair and a strong jawline alongside twin hazel eyes. The boy wore a light ash brown shirt with short, brown pants. He would've looked intimidating to anyone else, but to Mika, who's been and fought alongside a fellow muscle bound boy for a long time, this blonde was nothing more than a painful reminder of his past life.

Besides, he didn't _look_ intimidating at the moment, what with his somewhat charming smirk and the friendly look in his eyes.

"Annie!" greeted the blonde, extending his arms in a welcoming manner as he addressed Annie specifically, not seeming to notice Mika at the moment. "You actually came on your own! I knew you could do it eventually!"

"Yeah, but I didn't come alone," was Annie's reply as she motioned towards Mika with her chin, and that was when the blonde finally noticed Mikazuki standing next to Annie. Rather dramatically, the blonde rubbed his chin and looked Mikazuki from head to toe, something which made Mika at least a little uncomfortable and amused Leonhardt to a certain extent.

"Hmm… let me guess," said the blonde, smirking as he averted his gaze towards Leonhardt. And his smirk only grew wider when Annie nodded in annoyance. "I called that one! Welcome, Mikazuki Augus! I was honestly wondering when you'd actually visit…"

"...ah," said Mika. He would have said something else, which he didn't, but even if he did, he would have been cut off by the taller blonde anyways, who extended a hand of friendship.

" _Reiner Braun_!" proclaimed the taller bloke, introducing himself. Deciding to humor him a little, Mika accepted the handshake. "But you can just call me Reiner, or Rein, depending on your preference."

Reiner's handshake was rather firm, and Mika gave a nod in response to the blonde's introduction. When that was done, Reiner retracted his arm and took a step back. "Well, don't just stand on ceremony, come on in!"

Annie was the first to step into the small house while Mikazuki followed suit. Once both of them were inside, Braun shut the door with a rather loud thump and followed his guests into his small home.

The interior place was a little less shabby than than the exterior, which wasn't saying much as it still looked like a dump. A lot more than the Carolina residence, anyways. The walls were much more damaged than Mina's, with most of the walls being partially torn down and the ground with a handful of holes in it. A small ripped couch, a partially destroyed coffee table and a small candle were the only things which Mikazuki could see at first glance, though on further examination, Augus also noticed a small box and a door leading to an extra room. He wasn't curious enough to wonder what was inside either.

And finally, the pilot noticed another person who was standing by the side. Turning to glance at him, Mika saw that it was a boy, a _tall_ sonova gun at that, standing seemingly taller than even the tallest _Tekkadan_ comrade he knew of. His hair was cut short, black and rather neat, with brown eyes and an elongated face. For whatever reason, he seemed rather nervous to be here.

Mika also wondered how he spotted the boy last even though he was arguably the tallest thing in the entire room, but he didn't put too much thought into that.

"Oi, _Bertholdt_!" proclaimed Reiner as he slung both his arms around Mikazuki and Annie's necks. Annie gave an annoyed grunt at that gesture while Mika glanced at Reiner with a raised eyebrow.

' _He already reminds me of Shino,'_ he thought, as, of all the _Tekkadan_ comrades he knew about, only Shino would be bold enough to do something like this. As he thought that, Reiner was barking at the taller boy over by the side, Bertholdt apparently, in a rather friendly, if overly loud, tone.

"You forget about your manners or something, _Hoover_?" bellowed Reiner with a teasing smirk which made Bertholdt's face light up in embarrassment. "Come ere' and say hi to Augus!"

Bertholdt himself seemed rather uncertain on if he should, but he eventually, after about ten seconds of horrendously awkward silence, came up to Mikazuki and shook his hand. Bertholdt visibly winced when Mika shook his hand, most likely thanks to how much force Mika had (unintentionally) applied in the handshake. When he had let go, Bertholdt immediately began massaging his hand.

"Y-You got a strong grip, Mr Augus," said Bertholdt as he shook his hand a tad. Mika's response was a simple nod as he remembered how Nac had said the exact same thing to him when they first met, making him snort in amusement. Reiner, on the other hand, gave a chuckle.

"It's a good thing, don't ya think?" asked Reiner, placing an arm around Mikazuki's shoulders and giving him a hearty poke to the chest. "A strong handshake is a good sign of strength!"

Bertholdt nodded shakily at that, and Reiner's smile grew a little. Annie, on the other hand, moved towards the room at the far side of the house. Opening the door, the blonde entered and slammed it shut, making both Reiner and Bertholdt flinch while Mika gave no proper reaction to that.

For a brief moment where no one said anything, simply wallowing in the silence which followed the door slamming. Then, after about ten seconds had passed, Reiner gave a slight chuckle and placed a large hand on Mika's shoulder. "Don't mind her. She does that all the time!"

"Ah," replied Mika, not even turning to look at Reiner while Bertholdt noticeably slumped a tad.

' _I kinda wish Reiner was joking,'_ thought Bertholdt, mentally sighing as he slouched forward. In truth, the tall boy and his blonde friend did want Annie to come out of her cold shell. Sure, it would prove an inconvenience in the future, but before _that day_ were to arrive, Bertholdt wanted Annie to at least have friends outside of him and Reiner, and to have _fun_ , to act like a normal teenager and not a _warrior_ for however long they would be here. Sure, she was very slowly starting to consider Mina and Nac to be friends, but in the tall boy's mind, it wasn't enough to break her cold exterior.

"Oi, Earth to Bertholdt!" came Reiner's voice, and the boy in question shook his head as he was snapped out of his trance. Refocusing his vision, Bertholdt saw that Reiner was snapping his fingers in front of his face, and it was then when he realized that he had spaced out for a while. Shaking his head once more, Bertholdt gave a soft, uneasy chuckle as he held both his hands up defensively.

"Y-Yes, Reiner?" he said, sounding somewhat sheepish. Reiner didn't seem to notice, however, one arm still slung around Mikazuki's shoulder. Mika himself also didn't seem to mind, mainly because he was wishing that Reiner would remove his arm.

"You alright there? You kinda spaced out for a moment," pointed out Reiner with a short chuckle. Bertholdt's face lit up a tad in response to that before he gave a nod.

"I suppose so," responded Bert, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "Don't worry, I'm alright. I was just… thinking about things."

"Well, think about them later!" protested Reiner as he walked over to the couch. With a slight grunt, Braun sat down on it and adjusted himself until he was comfortable, though both Hoover and Augus could hear something snap inside the thing. Bertholdt sat down as well, though he left a noticeable gap between himself and Rein, and Mika didn't need to think too hard to know what they wanted him to do. Seeing no real reason to not do so, Augus moved and plopped down between Reiner and Bertholdt.

For a short while, neither one of the three uttered a single word. Reiner stayed silent to allow his short, blonde friend's acquaintance to settle in for a while. Bertholdt didn't say anything as he didn't know what he should actually say. And as for Mika, he didn't say anything because he was Mika.

And finally, Reiner cleared his throat and replied.

"So, you're like us, hm?" asked Reiner with a smile. Mika and Bertholdt turned to face Reiner, with the former with a brow raised while the latter seemed rather… unsettled. The expression Mika gave him told Reiner that he needed to rephrase himself, and the one which Bert was giving him told the blonde that he was as paranoid as ever. "What I mean is that, you're from _Maria_ too, hm?"

"Ah," answered Mika with a stiff nod. " _Shiganshina_."

"Oh right… that… place," muttered Reiner, and Mika thought that he heard a small hint of guilt in his tone. Bertholdt himself, despite not being seen by Augus himself, tensed up as well as a small drop of sweat slide down his cheek. Augus raised a brow when he noticed Reiner's strange tone, though it went as soon as it came, as when he spoke up once more, his tone was back to normal. "Nac said you were from _Maria_ , but he didn't tell us where, you see?"

"Mmm," muttered Mika with a nod. "You're also from there?"

"Well duh," said Reiner sarcastically, apparently trying to lighten the mood. "We lived near the middle of the south of _Maria_ and were among the few who escaped from the entire area. The two of us met Annie on a refugee boat. It was a pretty good day… depending on how you view it."

Reiner sounded rather sheepish as he said that while Bertholdt continued for him. "Annie ignored his handshake until she got annoyed and accepted it. Reiner considered it the bad part of our initial meeting."

"Ah," repeated Mika with a faint nod. Admittedly, a part of him was curious as to how the three of them met and what the 'good' part of the meeting was, but he wasn't curious enough to ask. On the other hand, Reiner and Bertholdt both seemed very keen on knowing more about him.

"So, what about you, Mika?" inquired Reiner, nudging the shorter boy lightly. That action made Mika stare at him, confused, while Bertholdt looked somewhat antsy about that question. Reiner ignored the latter while he continued to question the former. "You're from _Shiganshina_ , hm? I'd like to know how you escaped and all that."

' _How I escaped…'_ he thought, not expecting Reiner to ask that. The boy knew that Mina, Nac and Ms Carolina were too emotional to ask about that, and Annie herself wouldn't bother asking. Bertholdt himself seemed to fit into the former category. Reiner, however, apparently wasn't too shy on inquiring about that topic.

In truth, Mika had no actual answer to that. He never had any reason to think of a proper cover up for that small detail up till now, and he hastily thought of the one thing which he could use to cover it up.

"A Titan," replied Mika, looking down at the couch while Reiner and Bertholdt raised their brows. "It was large, with white armour."

And when he said that, Reiner gave a soft gasp. "You saw the _Mechanical Titan_?!"

'Mechanical Titan _…'_ thought Mika, doing his best to suppress a smirk. _'They really do think that anything that's bigger than them is a Titan of sorts.'_

"Ah," replied Mika. "I didn't know it had a name."

"The _Mechanical Kyojin_ wasn't much more than a myth to the citizens of _Trost_ and even some refugees from _Maria_ and _Shiganshina_ ," pointed out Bertholdt, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Most reports from the refugees peg it as a white being which only attacked Titans and ignored humans, sometimes even saving them."

' _I guess I did save a few people in_ Shiganshina _…'_ thought Mika with a nod. That realization didn't really illicit any real emotion from the boy, though he did feel mildly proud of himself for some reason.

"The Military Brigades are most likely keeping the existence of this Titan under wraps," said Reiner thoughtfully, snapping Augus out of it as he turned to face the gold haired boy. "But I've heard rumors that the _Survey Corps_ have encountered it on their most recent expedition. The rumors say that it saved a small group of soldiers and retreated into the night. Most people in _Trost_ think that these rumors are all fake, but practically all refugees from _Maria_ and _Shiganshina_ stick to their guns and say that it's real."

"And the Wallists are pretty divided on this," added Bertholdt, crossing his arms as he looked up at the ceiling. Upon hearing the Wallists being mentioned, Mika perked his ears up. While he didn't exactly care much about this radical group, Mika did find Nac's tales regarding them to be entertaining. Hopefully what Bertholdt was about to tell him in regards to how they reacted to _Barbatos_ would continue that trend. "About half of the Wallists consider the _Mechanical Titan_ to be a menace, one who kills both Titans and humans without remorse, considering the reports of it not targeting humans to be nothing but false information. _Pastor Nick_ himself seems to be part of this half.

"The other half, the less vocal half, see the Titan as some sort of holy guardian of sorts. Like an angel sent down by their Gods, the Walls… somehow, to defend them from the Titan threat. It's very hard to take that claim seriously, but I guess you can't change how someone thinks, y'know?"

When he had finished his sentence, Bertholdt scratched the back of his head and gave a chuckle. Mika, on the other hand, was a little surprised at this new information. Never did he even think that his _Mobile Suit_ , a unit that was 300 years old, become this infamous within these walls. It was almost enough to give Augus a small sense of pride. _Almost_.

"But enough about what we think," said Reiner, smirking as he leaned forward and looked at Augus, who raised a brow at that. "I'd like to hear from you, the person that saw this thing up close and personal!"

And without much else to talk about, Mika gave a simply shrug.

"...sure."

* * *

 **Inside the bedroom**

The only other room (outside of the main one) in the house of Reiner and Bertholdt was a simple bedroom. It was rather sizable, taking up at least a quarter of the entire house, with four beds in total, two bedside tables and two lamps which acted as the only source of light in the entire room. It looked just as Annie remembered it, as messy as ever, as she sat on her old bed, a single one of the two lamps turned on as she began reading a book on different languages, one she had brought with her from her old home.

Annie remembered the days when she lived here, about three months ago, before she met Mina in the fields of _Trost_. She still remembered that day vividly, Mina walking up to her, a huge smile on her face as she introduced herself. She remembered Mina saying that she looked lonely and that she wanted to accompany her. Annie did not accept, but it never stopped her allies from pestering her to Hell and back into befriending the residential _Trost_ girl. Of course, Annie declined, but she did consider it if it helped in their current… situation.

Not long after that, Reiner and Bertholdt had went to meet Carolina. They became fast friends, and before long the two of them were urging Annie to move in to live with Mina. It wasn't because of the lack of space in their own 'house', far from it actually, with Annie herself suspecting that the house, as run down as it was, could sustain an entire family for at least a generation. Instead, she knew that it was for an… ulterior motive.

To befriend Carolina and Tias.

It wasn't so much that Annie herself did not want to befriend them. Quite the opposite really. Her whole life, all she wished for was to live the life of a normal person. And having friends would have certainly been part of that life. But she knew that she could not live a normal life now, not until their current objective was complete. She also knew that having friends would most definitely make her current objective much harder as personal attachments would most likely make her hesitate on doing _it_ when the time came. Having Bertholdt and Reiner was enough for her, anyways. Hell, she'd even go so far as to say that it was _more_ than enough…

And that was perhaps the reason she always used for not wanting to befriend Nac and Mina, even if she did allow herself to call them acquaintances. She did not wish to hesitate when the time came for her to perform her duty. In her mind, having a relationship with anyone outside of Reiner and Bertholdt which extended past 'acquaintances', the stage which Nac and Mina were currently in, even if Annie considered them close and favored ones, would be detrimental to their objective. Or at least, that was the reason which Annie kept bringing up.

In truth, there was another reason as to why she did not want to forge any close bonds with Tias or Carolina, and that was thanks to her fear of the inevitable. She knew that her acquaintances would more than likely be killed when the time came to set their plans into motion. And even if they weren't, they'd most likely resent her for what she would end up doing. Annie wasn't exactly an emotional person, far from it, but even she felt guilt. And she knew that if she knowingly killed people whom she called friends, directly or _indirectly_ , she would never be able to recover from the mental scars. He had a feeling that it could only be worse if they found out about her true self.

Thankfully, however, Reiner and Bertholdt seemed to have calmed down on their efforts after Annie had moved into the Carolina Residence. They were still openly bummed that she wasn't 100% friends with them yet, but they knew that it would take them.

Then Mikazuki Augus showed up.

Annie still remembered the day Nac, when visiting Reiner and Bertholdt with her, spilled the news that Mika was now living with them. When he described how Mika was, Reiner seemed to get an idea, and ever since then, they had been insisting that Annie perhaps get acquainted with Augus. And Leonhardt had to wonder if they were too insistent or had suffered some head injuries right when Nac told them, but they seemed to keep ignoring the fact that Annie and Mika shared the same cold, emotionless attitude, the kind of attitude which was not good for friend making. Whenever she would point that out, Reiner simply said that she should try harder in getting a friend as it would be beneficial to have more, much to her annoyance, while Bertholdt pointed out that, perhaps, speaking to a person that acted similarly to her could be beneficial as Mika could have had the same views on life as she did. Annie did her best to ignore how tempting the prospects sounded.

Even now, Annie could hear the faint sounds of conversation outside in the main room. It was very tempting, and she knew that it wasn't happenstance. Reiner was most likely accentuating his words on purpose to try and goad her into coming out and joining the conversation. It had never worked before, and it still didn't work now, even if it almost did.

' _I never asked for this…'_ thought Annie as she grit her teeth together, a sign of clear frustration. She began grimacing as she tightened her grips on the book she was reading, a book which she'd stopped reading long ago when she began reflecting on bleakness of her current situation. _'I should have turned back when I had the chance!"_

And then, she calmed herself. Swiftly, Leonhardt's growing look of frustration faded, replaced with her usual, stoic expression. Without a thought, she bookmarked the page she was reading and snapped the book shut before placing it inside her bag. Once that was done, she dimmed the lights of the lamp and undid her small ponytail.

' _No, there's no point in thinking about any of this,'_ thought Annie, frowning as she rubbed the bridge of her nose. _'It's all in the past. And that can't be changed, no matter how much I wish for it.'_

And with one last sigh, the girl plopped down onto her bed and stared at a random wall in the room, a wall which had a few noticeable splits in it. There was still light out, enough to make it look as though it were about two in the afternoon. Deciding that her waking up early, too early in fact, had made her a little drowsy and perhaps a little numb in the brain as well, Annie decided to take this opportunity to take a nap and regain some of her energy.

' _I just hope that I'll stop thinking about all this when I wake up…'_ thought Annie as she began drifting into a deep sleep. _'...and that I can actually sleep when night rolls by…'_

* * *

 **Hours later**

To say that Annie had woken at an awkward time would be putting it lightly.

When the girl had woken up, night had fallen, and both Reiner and Bertholdt were already in bed. And it was then when she began yelling at herself (mentally) for being such an idiot and taking a long nap at such an awkward time.

After about a minute of self reprimandation, Annie decided that there was no real point in just sitting around and waiting to fall asleep, even if she could, again. So, in a simply motion, Annie swung her legs off the edge of her bed and felt around the bedside table until she gripped her hairband. Looping it around her wrist, Annie made her way out of the room, though before she exited, she took a moment to have a look at Bertholdt who, as usual, was performing some rather flamboyant poses in his sleep. His current position told Annie that the next day would be sunny, which wasn't a surprise.

With that done, Annie closed the door gently so as to not wake her allies up. When she was out, however, she saw that Mika was nowhere to be seen. That, and the combat boots which he always wore were also missing, making her huff.

' _So he took off while everyone was asleep, huh?'_ thought Annie as she tied her hair up into her signature ponytail. _'Not much of a surprise…'_

In truth, she only had one real thing she wished to do, and that was to leave this place as well. She knew she would not be able to sleep, not after her long nap, so she may as well take a walk around _Trost_ until she considered herself tired enough to return for some rest. Swiftly, she slipped on her shoes and made her way out of the house.

Judging by how high the moon was in the sky, Annie predicted that it was close to about… twelve in the morning. Something which did actually baffle her to a certain extent as she didn't expect herself to take a nap for _that long_.

Still, she wouldn't call it a bad thing, as walking around _Trost_ at night was a personal favorite thing to do for Annie, even if she hardly did it. It was more or less a once in a month thing before she moved in with Mina and Nac. Ever since then she found herself more occupied by her acquaintances, enough to stop her from going out at night on a daily basis. _Trost_ was, in Annie's opinion, just so much more peaceful at night, something Annie prefered over the overly loud markets in the morning. The stars in the sky and the cresent moon only made it more enjoyable.

' _Reiner said the moon is made of cheese…'_ thought Annie wistfully as she looked up at it. She had to suppress a smile at that as she raised a hand up to 'pinch' the moon between her fingertips. _'I wonder how it really tastes, though…'_

For a long moment, Annie simply walked, thinking about random trivial topics as she moved. She took several turns and occasionally had to backtrack, her attention entirely on the night sky. The blonde allowed herself to let her stressful worries in regards to her current 'objective' to fade for a moment to allow for her more childish thoughts. But after about an hour of walking, Annie found herself bumping into the one person she'd never expect to see out here on this time and day.

"Mikazuki?" muttered Annie, a little dumbfounded that she was now face to face with him in such an unusual setting. Augus himself seemed rather surprised as well, something he showed with a simple raise of his brows and as he slid his hands into his jacket pockets.

"Annie?" he echoed, sounding just as confused at meeting her out here, at this ungodly time of day as well, and spoken in a tone which was just as quiet. And for a long moment, neither blue eyed child spoke, simply letting the initial shock slide past as they stared. Annie was the one who broke the silence.

"What are you doing out here at this time?" she demanded, sharpening her gaze to tell Mika that she wanted an answer. Mika's response to that was simple, perhaps a little _too_ simple

"I couldn't sleep," he said. "I needed to clear my mind."

"I see…" muttered Annie with a subtle nod. And slowly, she approached Mika. When she was about five metres in front of him, she continued, mentally cursing her height for making her about an inch shorter than the pilot. "I suppose you're headed back to Reiner and Bertholdt's house. I won't stop you."

And she had expected that to be the end of their conversation, with the girl walking past the boy without a second glance at him. Rather shockingly, however, she was wrong, as when she was about ten metres behind Mikazuki, he spoke up.

"I was going to go there," he said, prompting Annie to stop walking and turn to face him. And she saw that he was also looking at her with a sideways glance. Much to her surprise, however, he did not have that strange, almost dead gaze in his eyes. Instead, he seemed rather carefree, childish even. "But that was before I ran into you."

"Yeah, and?" shot Annie, raising an eyebrow in confusion at what Mika was getting at.

"I'll accompany you," offered Mika, turning his entire body so that he was facing her completely. And, admittedly, Annie was caught off guard by that proposal, and it seemed to show as she felt her face change from her usually stoic expression into a more… shocked one. Mika himself also noted it as he raised an eyebrow, slowly approaching the slightly shorter girl as she stared at him. "Is something wrong?"

"...no," replied Annie, feeling certain that Mika was pulling her leg. Deciding to confirm something, she asked, "Did Bertholdt and Reiner put you up to this?"

"No," said Mika with a shake of his head. "I just need more time to unwind."

"I see…" muttered Annie with a nod. Turning, she supposed that she would most likely not be able to form a bond with Mika, even if she wanted to. That and, despite never wanting to admit it, Mikazuki was admittedly was her personal favorite kind of company, more so than Mina, Nac, Reiner and Bertholdt combined. The pilot was the type whom never announced his presence, something which Annie liked, so she held no objections him following. "Fine. You can come with."

"Ah."

* * *

 **An hour later**

Silence was the only thing which was exchanged between Mika and Annie during the duration of the walk, or at least during the first hour.

For the most part, Annie could pretty much pretend that Mika was not walking beside her as he was so silent. She knew that he took occasional glances at her, but in all fairness she herself was also taking small glances at him as well, so touché, she supposed.

At about one in the morning, Annie and Mika had arrived at the center of _Trost_. In the morning, it was usually bustling with activity, but at night it was shockingly silent, and shockingly devoid of life as well. Darkness engulfed the area, and the only source of light was the moonlight which emitted from above, light which shone down on two of the only people who were out at this ungodly hour.

"It's darker than I expected," said Mika, making his voice heard for the first time since about an hour. Annie simply snorted at that.

"It's always this dark at this time of day," deadpanned Annie. Her tone was mocking, but Mika seemed to miss that and nodded.

"Ah," said Mika as they approached a medium sized crate. Mika remembered it being the crate which the first Wallist he seen stood on. When they were right in front of it, Annie took a seat on it while Mika just stood beside her.

Mika himself didn't mind standing, and for about five to ten minutes, neither one of them said anything else, simply basking in the silence which their acquaintance provided them. Surprisingly, Mika himself was the one which broke it.

"Reiner and Bertholdt seem to care a lot about you," he pointed out, making Annie raise an eyebrow and turn to him, only to note that Mika himself was staring at her. He had a neutral expression, which was unsurprising, but she noted that her eyes still lacked the cold, hard gaze which she had grown used to, now resembling a regular person's eyes and not… whatever she saw in them mere hours ago. In truth, it almost made Annie pity him.

"... yeah," responded Annie with a reluctant nod. "A little too much."

"What makes you think that way, Annie?" questioned Mika, an eyebrow raised as he crossed his arms. He sounded a little cold, but Annie thought that he seemed to be at least a little concerned with her wellbeing, but she told herself that she was more than likely just hearing things as she replied.

"They keep wanting me to befriend you," replied Annie, frowning as she began to vent out on Mika, who, to his credit, was a good listener. "I don't see the appeal in friends. They'll… _leave_ you eventually. It's all inevitable. Especially with what Mina and Nac intend to do by the end of the year."

"What do you mean?" questioned Mika, raising an eyebrow, something that told Annie that no one had told him about Mina and Nac's plans to join the 104th Trainee Corps.

"They never told you?" asked Leonhardt, and when Augus shook his head, she huffed and told him all he needed to know in a few words. "They wish to join the Trainee Corps alongside me, Reiner and Bertholdt."

"How does that connect to a friend leaving you?" pressed Mika, an eyebrow raised.

"You never noticed, hm?" grumbled Annie, positioning her legs up on the crate she was sitting on and hugging her knees. Raising an eyebrow, Mika noted that Leonhardt seemed to be more… emotional than usual. He decided to attribute that to how late it was influencing her behavior. " _Both_ Mina and Nac want to join the _Scout Regiment_ of the Military Brigade."

"... _Scouts_?" echoed Mika, unsure on what that was, prompting Annie to rephrase herself.

"The alternate name for _Survey Corps_ ," she replied. "I'm sure Nac's told you about the casualty rate for the average soldier in that regiment. Probably not that of a junior, though."

"Ah," confirmed Mika, remembering a conversation which Nac had with him one day. "Not that high."

"I… I just don't want to bear losing another person that I consider a friend, Mikazuki Augus," said Annie, hugging her knees much tighter than before as some emotion cracked through her stone cold facade. "If they manage to even survive the four years of training, I don't think they'll manage to make it through their first expedition…"

"You're being too pessimistic," was her immediate response from Mika, making Annie turn and look at him with a, rather out of character, timid expression.

"And what would _that_ mean?" demanded Annie, telling Mika that her expression did not reflect how she currently felt. The boy simply gave a nod before looking up at the sky, where his namesake hovered above them.

"You don't know what the future holds, Annie," explained Mika, sliding his hands into his jacket pockets. "They could die on their first expedition outside _Trost_ , or perhaps they could survive over a hundred. They could live long enough to see mankind triumph, or they could simply die tomorrow. Any of those things could happen, but we don't know if it will."

"And what are you implying, exactly?" questioned Annie, her gaze softening for once.

"I'm implying that you should stop worrying about the distant future," responded Mika, looking towards his fellow blue eyed child and fixing his gaze on her. "Just think about what'll happen tomorrow, or next week. Thinking too much into the future isn't healthy. I know from experience."

Taking a moment to let all of that sink in, Annie raised her brows in realization, realization that she had been doing all of what Mika had just said. She was thinking too far into the future, about events which would not transpire for at least four years, indirectly causing her to turn cold and push others away in preparation for that day. The girl had always been ignorant on that fact, and she was rightfully shocked to know that the least likely person ever was the one who was telling all this to her.

"... I suppose so," said Annie with a small, thankful nod. She felt a little warm inside, but could find any words to describe the feeling. What she did manage to find words for, however, were for asking a question. "Why are you doing this?"

"Hm?" grunted Mika, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"Are you _sure_ no one set you up to this?" rephrased Annie, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Bertholdt? Reiner? Mina? Nac? I'm sure Nac told you to do this…"

"No one told me to do this," replied Mika, sounding almost offended in his own way, though Annie didn't catch that. "I just wanted to point out the obvious."

"I… I see…" muttered Annie, and as she said that, she allowed the ghost of a smile slither onto her face. "I… thank you… Mikazuki Augus."

"Ah," was her response as Mika gave a huff.

' _I guess she really is kind of a nice person.'_

* * *

 **Hours later**

Standing by the front gate of their home, Mina and Nac waited rather anxiously for Annie and Mika to return.

"Do you think they've become friends?" was the first thing which Nac asked Mina when she mentioned that their friends were most likely headed back. Mina's response was a light shrug.

"Hopefully… but it's unlikely."

Nac, being as optimistic as ever, held onto hope that Mika and Annie were at least acquaintances by now, as unlikely as it was, as they waited out by the front for their friends. Nac was currently eating a banana which he seemed to have pulled out of nowhere while Mina was rocking back and forth on her heels impatiently.

And finally, they saw their blue eyed friends getting closer to their house. Without missing a beat, both Mina and Nac rushed up to them and greeted their friends with more enthusiasm than necessary, with the latter finishing his banana before moving to his pals.

Annie had responded to their greetings with a 'hey' while Mika just nodded. And before long, the two were back in the Carolina Residence unpacking their stuff.

As they stood over by the side, watching their friends unpack and unwind, Mina felt her spirits fall a couple of metres as she gave a frown.

"I guess it…" began Mina, turning up to stare at Nac, only to pause when she noted that her tall friend was not sharing her current expression. "Nac, why're you smiling?"

"Don't you notice it, Mina?" asked Nac, smiling as he watched Mika and Annie stop in their tracks and stare at each other for a brief moment. Mina raised her brows at that, but Nac could tell that the relationship between Augus and Leonhardt was beginning to improve.

* * *

 **Bada bing, bada boom,** _ **I'm back**_ **.**

 **For those of you who don't know, I was taking a slight break from writing and had placed this story on a minor hiatus. But the hiatus is broken.**

 **I won't lie, but this chapter was kinda the main reason as to why I placed the story on hiatus. It was pretty** _ **fockin**_ **hard to write a chapter focusing primarily on Annie and Mika interacting for some obvious reasons. Hopefully I wrote it convincingly…** _ **hopefully**_ **.**

 **Now, onto some other stuff. The next chapter will be the final filler chapter before we get to the 104th Trainee Corp episodes. Bear with me lads, the** _ **Trost**_ **arc is coming soon.**

 **Oh and on another note, I've kinda stockpiled on a few Gunpla. Hi Res** _ **Barbatos**_ **, for instance. It was down from $350 to $115, so I just had to have it.**

 **Now onto the review replies**

 **Guest: why thank you. It'll probably be a few years before I manage to finish it though, considering how the SnK manga is still being written.**

 **Glasses Writer: I'M BACK NOW MY DUDE**

 **CrazyCriticizer46: well, I do try my best to write characters convincingly. It's more or less the best I can do at this point :P**

 **Hellfire Kitsune Zero and Irresponsible boredom: why, thank you. And to Irresponsible boredom, I just thought it'd be better to have a proper reason before I left for two months or so.**

 **Barbatos009: back from the grave, ma boi**

 **Alright, now as a final note, Glasses Writer asked why I used Mina and Nac specifically. I may or may not have talked about this in chapter 1, but may as well bring it up again in case I didn't.**

 **I used them just because they're severely underused in SnK fanfics. That, and Mina and Nac are rather enduring to me. Their wiki pages explanations regarding their personality traits made me like them much more, and their limited screen time… very limited… disappointed me. So that's the explanation, more or less.**

 **Fun fact, back in the original version of this story, when I was still very new to this writing business, I used Eren, Mikasa, Armin and Sasha. I changed to Mina, Nac and Annie after much consideration.**

 **Spoilers: Mylius will be part of the cast as well, alongside several others.**

 **SEE YA IN CHAPTER 9**

 **Some time after C8**

* * *

"Y'know, sometimes I wonder how Mika looks when he's _naked_."

Pausing for a moment to let what Mina just said sink in, Annie stared at her friend in disbelief at saying such a genuinely pervy thing, something very out of character for Carolina. Confused, Mina raised an eyebrow as she chuckled nervously.

"What, Mika's strong, y'know?" she reasoned, a mild blush on her face as she waved a hand in the air. "A strong dude definitely has some muscles and…"

"Mina, do you think you're hitting that time of the year?" said Annie, cutting Mina off as she shook her hands immensely.

"What do you mean?!" she protested. "I'm just curious, that's all! B-Besides… I'm sure you also wanna know…"

"Yeah, right…" muttered Annie, her face starting to light up as turned away from them. Before she could think of a retort, however, a nearby door which led to the bathroom, prompting both girls to turn to it.

And suddenly, the two girls widened their eyes and their faces turned an immense shade of red when they saw who had just left the bathroom.

"M-Mikazuki…" muttered Mina as a half naked piot came waltzing out of the bathroom, with his lower half being covered by his usual pair of pants. His upper half… however, was uncovered, letting both the girls see his upper body in all its ripped glory. Mina herself could not stop staring, and her face was so red that she could very easily be thought to have a fever.

As for Annie, she kept her cool slightly better than her friend, though she still had an immense blush as she stared at Augus, noting how his arms were lined with muscles which could potentially give herself a run for her money, and the chiseled six pack abs which looked to have needed years of physical training to achieve…

"...what?" muttered Mika, noting their staring as he wiped his hair, his ahoge popping up afterwards. That snapped both Mina and Annie out of their trances and they shook their heads.

"We…" muttered Annie, embarrassed as she looked away, unable to respond to Mika's question. Mina, being more impulsive, responded.

"NOTHING!" she exclaimed, eyes wide and mouth agape as she covered her eyes in a childish manner. "WE'RE SO SORRY!"

"...alright…" muttered a confused Mika as he began to walk off, though as he moved, Annie took note of the three spines on his back.


	9. Minor disagreements (filler)

To Mika, a child soldier who had closed his heart off to nearly everyone but those closest to him, the simple fact that he, in just about three fourths of a year, was able to make three friends, friends whom he very nearly considered to be on the level of _Tekkadan_ , was rather amazing.

For the most part, his relationships with Nac and Mina remained the same, but the two had stopped pestering him and Annie ever since they came to good terms with each other, which was to say that they were less annoying and more tolerable to both of the blue eyed teenagers. His relationship with Annie, however, escalated so far that it surprised even the two of them.

Over the course of about a month ever since the duo had come to good terms with each other, Annie had started speaking more to her fellow blue eyed child, something which surprised even Mina and Nac, though it was a pleasant surprise to be sure. Though to be fair, the times where they spoke to each other could hardly be called conversations as they more or less said less than a hundred words to each other before carrying on with their days. Still, it was progress.

Annie herself also didn't go off to the fields as much as she usually did whenever Mika was around, and sometimes even (seemingly) intentionally claiming a seat beside the boy. It made Nac and Mina happy, to see that their friend was seemingly warming up to Mika, even making an active effort to be in close proximity to him, but Mina was a little more mixed on how she felt about it. Nac took notice, but he gave no comment in fear of being on the opposing side of a girl's wrath.

To distract him from those thoughts, Nac inadvertently took note of Annie seemed to had changed since that visit to Bertholdt and Reiner's house. The blonde seemed slightly more carefree and friendly. Sure, it wasn't enough for Mina, or even Ms Carolina for that matter, to notice, but it was definitely there, and Nac was perceptive enough to see it. The boy also noted how Mika tended to visit Bert and Rein on various occasions, but he didn't need to be very perceptive to notice that.

In short, something about that visit to Bertholdt and Reiner's home had changed Annie. Nac secretly wondered if Mika had anything to do with it, and that thought sounded romantic to him. Though Mina, for some reason, was a little indifferent to the idea.

 **A sunday, several days after the previous chapter**

"What happened, exactly?"

"Well… Mina asked Ms Carolina… and you probably know what came next."

Pinching the bridge of her nose in mild frustration, Annie shook her head as Mika raised a brow. The two blue eyed trespassers had just returned from a trip through _Trost_ , something which was becoming somewhat common for the two to do routinely. When they had returned, however they noted how Ms Carolina, who was still home as it was a Sunday, seemed rather unhappy at best and pained at worst.

Annie herself had a feeling that she knew the reason as to why, but Mika was confused. In order to confirm her suspicions and to settle Mika's curiosity, Annie asked Nac about the issue, and unsurprisingly to her, Leonhardt's hypothesis was correct.

"The _Survey Corp_ matter?" inquired Annie, and Nac gave a slightly distressed nod in response.

"Mina asked Ms Carolina not too long after you two left home…" explained Nac, keeping his voice softer than usual to avoid being heard by Ms Carolina, who was sitting not too far away from them on the couch. Despite his attempts, Mika and Annie could tell that she was aware of their current conversation, as evident by the way she glanced at the three of them when Tias mentioned her name. "She replied the way you said she would… and Mina didn't exactly take it that well."

"Did she keep pestering Ms Carolina?" questioned Annie, her voiced mildly hushed.

"Yeah. In the end she gave up and went to our room to sulk. I tried getting her out, but it's no use," said Nac with a defeated sigh. "Think you can give me a hand with her, Ann?"

"Sure," replied Annie with a nod as Nac led her up to the second floor. Mika could hear the door open and the two enter, only for it to shut with a rather loud thud. The thud made Ms Carolina flinch a tad while Mika paid it no mind and moved over to claim a better spot on the couch, not too far from where the elder Carolina sat.

For a long while, neither Augus nor the older Carolina uttered a single word. Mikazuki himself was content with the silence and was unwilling to partake in this family drama, knowing that he was still immensely inexperienced at being in a normal household, while Ms Carolina kept contemplating things in her mind.

And finally, the silence was broken by Ms Carolina herself, who turned to fix her gaze on Mikazuki.

"Mikazuki, do you think I'm being unreasonable?" asked the woman, making Augus turn to face her, an eyebrow raised, a gesture which told Ms Carolina that he didn't get what she was asking. With a soft huff, she did as such and rephrased herself. "Do you think I'm being unreasonable for denying Mina her request to join the Trainee Corps?"

Her response was an indifferent shrug from Augus. In truth, Mika had no real thoughts on if they joined the 104th brigade of Trainee Corps. If they joined, he would go along with them just out of obligation. If they didn't, it just meant that they, and by a certain extent he himself, would live boring and uneventful, if a lot longer, lives. Either or was viable to him. The boy was a child soldier at heart, after all, even he did secretly yearn for a quiet life if a farmer.

"I don't think it's really unreasonable, the way you're currently feeling," replied Mika after some time. Ms Carolina, for her part, seemed surprised, apparently expecting Mika to be against her decision to deny Mina's Military Brigade request. "But I can't say I completely agree with it either."

"Could you elaborate, Mikazuki Augus?" asked Ms Carolina, an eyebrow raised as she narrowed both eyes. According to Nac, if she did that, it meant that she was in what he called 'serious mother mode', something which apparently terrified even Annie. Though if he were honest, Mika was not even amused by it, having seen much more intimidating glares in his lifetime, and because of that, he replied with an even voice.

"I know that you're worried for Mina," replied Mika, locking his gaze with Ms Carolina's. "It's in your nature, to worry about your own flesh and blood. But you need to look at the other side of this argument."

"Oh?" piped Ms Carolina, seeming a little curious as to what Augus was currently saying, prompting the boy to go on.

"This is Mina's dream. To become a soldier, a part of the _Scout Regiment_ ," explained Mika, holding an index finger up in the air. "She tells me about it every night, about how she hoped that you'll let her join when she's old enough. Annie keeps telling her to not hold onto hope, but she does anyways. I can only imagine how she feels, now that her dream was just denied."

"I… I see," muttered Ms Carolina with a nod. "I suppose… I never took that into consideration."

"I don't blame you," said Mika, still as neutral as ever. "You're just worried for her. To Mina, you sound selfish and unreasonable. But in reality, you just want her to be safe."

"I… suppose you could put it that way," muttered Ms Carolina with a nod as she smiled.

' _Though if you ask me we'd die either way,'_ thought Mika. _'That '_ Colossal Titan' _, as everyone calls it, proves that we're not truly safe within these walls.'_

"How do you know this much, anyways?" inquired Ms Carolina, sounding curious. Mika responded with a raised eyebrow, prompting her to reiterate. "You seem to know a lot about things like this. Has Nac been trying to teach you about talking again?"

Mika shrugged at that. In truth, she was correct. Nac was doing his best to teach him more social skills. It honestly made him speak more awkwardly than it did help him be better in conversations, though even he didn't have the heart to tell that to Nac. The boy was just waaaaay too cheery and friendly, even for Mika to handle.

"I suppose I'll think about it overnight," muttered Ms Carolina thoughtfully, leaning forward and rubbing her upper arm in a tense manner. "But I'm not going to promise you that I'll let her."

"If you let her go, then we'll all go," mentioned Mika, making Ms Carolina quirk a brow, prompting the boy to reiterate. "Nac's got plans to join the _Scouts_. And if either of them go, Annie and I will follow."

Ms Carolina nodded at that, looking a little antsy at that. But she seemed rather curious about something, prompting her to ask a simple question. "Why do you do this, Mikazuki Augus?"

"Do what?"

"Why do you do what you do?" rephrased the woman, a small glint of suspicion in her eyes as she stared at him. "Your… commendable loyalty to Mina, Nac and Annie. Just what exactly motivates you to be as loyal to them as you are?"

"I…" muttered Mika, unsure on how he should reply. In truth, even he didn't know why. At first, he thought that it was because he felt the need to repay them for everything they did for him or just act nice(r) to keep a spot in the household, but in more recent times, the pilot has felt himself feel differently. He didn't know what it was exactly, so he had no other reply outside of. "...I don't know."

And for now, that answer seemed to satisfy Ms Carolina for now as she stopped speaking for the rest of the night. On the polar opposite of things, however, Mikazuki was kept up all night as he wondered about the proper answer as to why he was so loyal to the three others.

* * *

 **The next day**

"Where are you headed off to anyways, Mina?"

"I… just need to clear my mind."

Seeming unsatisfied with Mina's response to him, Nac frowned and blocked Mina's path to the door. Rather shockingly, the girl shot him a glare, and even more so, Nac returned it in full. Over by the side, on the 'kitchen' table, Mika and Annie watched the two usually kind kids battle each other with their glares in amusement. Their glares were intense… at least in Mina and Nac's terms. When compared to Mika and Annie, it was nothing more than a pair of mildly annoyed looks.

"You don't have to go alone just to clear your mind, y'know?" shot Nac, jabbing a finger a little away from Mina's chest. Mina, in response, grimaced.

"And you don't have to be so sensitive, Nac!" retorted Mina, and she did something which shocked even Mika and Annie. The girl, in another out of character movement, shoved Nac out of her way and stormed out of the house. Nac didn't fall back, but he did stagger sideways, his expression reflecting his shock, while Mika had both his brows raised in mild surprise and Annie beside him had her usually stoic expression replaced with one of shock. It took a moment for the two to shake off their shock, and by then, they had stood up.

"Idiot…" muttered Nac as Annie and Mika walked up beside him to watch Mina walk away from the Carolina Residence.

"She's upset, isn't she?" muttered Annie to Nac, who sighed and nodded grimly, arms crossed and a grimace on his face. "She needs to unwind, I guess."

"It'll take some time…" agreed Nac, only to pause when he noticed some movement out of the corner of his eye. "But… Mika?"

Switching their attention from Mina to Mika when the two of them saw that he was beginning to walk out of the Carolina Residence, now wearing his usual combat boots and heading after Mina. When he heard Nac mutter his name, Augus turned to face him and gave a soft, "hm?"

"Where-" began Nac, only for Augus to cut him off.

"It's obvious," responded Mika, and he immediately continued going after Mina. Nac wanted to try and stop him as he now believed that Mina needed some alone time to unwind, but Annie stopped him with a firm hand on his shoulder which made him wince.

"Let him go, Nac," she ordered, frowning. Nac was ready to protest, but she cut him off. "Mina needs to unwind, yes, but she also needs a friend to help reinvigorate her spirits."

"But I-"

"We're her friends, yes. But Mika's not as emotional as you, and he may not look it, the boy knows how to speak about things like these better than either of us," replied Annie. "Just let this happen and don't get involved for once."

Opening his mouth, Nac seemed keen on retorting, but Annie's glare stopped him.

' _That, and I'm curious as to how this will go…'_ added Annie mentally as Nac held his head in both hands and groaned in defeat.

* * *

 **Elsewhere**

Mina was not known for her general whininess. Sure, she was immature from time to time, but never for her whininess… at least until now.

She felt that it was unfair… _very_ unfair. The girl has been dreaming about this for practically all her life, and for her mother to deny it so quickly and so insistently was saddening at best, and heartbreaking at worst.

For a long, very long, part of her walk, Mina had an angered look on her face. It did subsite after some time, but her current feelings towards her mother had not changed. Even buying a small piece of bread to potentially stem her anger did not help anything, even as she tore into it rather animalistically, making a certain someone tailing her around _Trost_ wince.

' _It's all bloody unfair… why does everyone else's parents let their kids join the_ Scouts _but mine doesn't?!'_ thought Mina as she shoved the rest of the bread into her mouth. While she chomped down on it with all her might, however, Mina failed to notice the boy which was several metres, most likely twenty metres behind her, tailing her. Well, the boy had been tailing her for the past hour and a half since she had left, but in her sulking, she just never noticed.

Instead, Mina kept her frustrated gaze firm as she zig zagged through _Trost_. Her mind was struggling to process all the mixed feelings she was currently feeling. The most noticeable feeling she had at the moment was, as one would expect, anger, with sadness and a mild drop of irritation in the mix.

Finally, Mina had stopped her trek through _Trost_ at the ravine which separated the residential region from the industrial and field areas. The girl stood at the edge of the ravine, eventually moving to sit on it, hugging her knees as she stared out at either the water or at the other side of the ravine. And there she sat for the better part of an hour, ignorant of the pilot who was staring at her from a short distance away from her.

' _She_ _ **is**_ _quite the fool,'_ thought Mika with a huff as he stared at his friend sit at the edge of the ravine, sulking quietly to herself. Currently, Augus was standing roughly ten metres away from Carolina. The girl didn't seem to hear him, though Mika attributed that to how loud it currently was. _Trost_ could be a very loud place in the morning, after all. Either that or she was a little too angry to hear him. Both possibilities were not entirely off the table.

While he had tailed Mina through _Trost_ , following her through the east side and even going into the west just to keep an eye on the girl. He was mildly amused by her antics, honestly, often cracking a smile whenever she slouched over in defeat or grumbled gibberish to herself to help ease her current dilemma. It was rather cute to him for some reason. Then again, he did find Atra and, to a lesser extent, Kudelia both cute and had taken a liking to both because of that. Of course he did prefer the former over the latter…

And when she had stopped at the ravine to have a sit down, Mika promptly stopped alongside her. The boy watched as she sat there, as silent as he tended to be. Her posture showed her current sadness, and it made Mika feel rather odd. The boy was slowly accepting the fact that he was human and still had feelings, sure. But he wasn't exactly sure about the current feeling he was having towards Mina. At best, he could only confirm that he felt bad for her.

After about an hour, Mina was still sitting there. By then, Mika began wondering if she was waiting for some miracle to happen, like her mother coming out of nowhere and telling her that she changed her mind to let her join the Military Brigade's Trainee Corp. It was unlikely, but the whims of a normal child like Mina were rather unpredictable.

And finally, Mika's boredom got a hold of him, so he approached Carolina and took a seat next to her.

Perking her ears up at the sound of footsteps, Mina turned at her waist to spot Mikazuki approaching her.

Raising her brows in surprise as he walked up to her, Mina watched as Mika moved over to sit beside her. He didn't greet her and just sat there for the better part of five minutes, and even then, Mina was the one who broke the silence.

"Hey," she greeted flatly, something which was very uncommon for her, though it didn't surprise Augus thanks to her current situation. He replied with a grunt, albeit a rather gentle one. "Let me guess, Nac persuaded you to come after me, hm?"

Mina's tone told Augus that she was confident about her answer. But to her shock, Mika shook his head, snorting as he answered.

"I came here on my own," replied Mika straightforwardly. "Annie supported the idea. Nac thought you needed some wind down time."

"Well maybe I do!" protested Mina, finally snapping from her current dilemma. "I probably needed an hour to unwind from all the things which my mum told me! All that false hope which I'd built up…"

As she finished her sentence, Mina sank her head down between her knees, hugging her them tighter. Mika saw that she was mad… very mad, at her mother. Mika was considering allowing her to just mope, but his recent… fondness of Carolina stopped him from doing so.

"Why do you think Ms Carolina doesn't want you to join the Military Brigade?" questioned Mika. Unlike his usual, emotionless tone, he seemed rather sympathetic, albeit very mildly, though if he was sympathetic to her or her mother was not known to Mina. The girl didn't put much into that thought, however, as she was contemplating what Augus had said.

"She… she's just paranoid!" protested Mina with a deep frown. "I'm not gonna die easily, y'know?! Besides, I'll have three years of preparation! It should be enough to prepare me for _Scout_ service!"

As she vented out to Mika, the blue eyed boy rolled his eyes in an uncharacteristically annoyed way. Perhaps it was her current mood, or her naivety, but either way, she couldn't see that her mother's current feelings regarding Mina's intentions on joining the Military Brigade were rather justified. Though just to be at least a little polite, Mika waited for Mina to finish speaking before he replied.

"...and she's also breaking Nac and Annie's hearts too! I mean… they wanna join too!" finished Mina, dramatically lifting her arms into the air. Mika raised a brow at that, not knowing that Annie would want to join the brigade, though he had a feeling that Annie had told that to Mina just to (maybe) make her feel happy.

"Ah," mumbled Mika, before he shook his head and began to rephrase what he had said to Ms Carolina. Clearing his throat, he began to speak in a tone somewhere between sympathetic and a little annoyed. "You never thought about why she feels that way, have you?"

"Of course I've thought of why!" protested Mina, swinging her arms at Mika. Augus caught her arm by the wrist with a small amount of his strength, enough to make the girl wince before he let it go when the momentum was lost. Mina didn't react to that in any way as she went on. "She's just paranoid!"

"Or maybe she's worried," pointed out Mika.

"Too paranoid perhaps!" proclaimed Mina. "She keeps worrying for-"

"For good reasons," said Mika, cutting his friend off swiftly. "You don't know that feeling, Mina. of being worried for someone you care for a lot."

"Yeah, and how would you know that feeling…" demanded Mina, hugging her knees as she asked, and she got no answer from Augus. Though within a few seconds, she realized the stupidity and possible suicidal nature of what she had just asked and widened her eyes in realization as she turned to face Augus with an extremely apologetic expression. "Wait… nevermind."

Mika gave a slight snort at that. Mina was a rather smart girl, nowhere close to Nac's level, but by no means stupid. Even so, she could sometimes be an immense dummy, something which was just demonstrated. He had a feeling that the girl did not mean to say something as insensitive as what she just did, even if it did piss him off a tad.

"You won't forgive yourself if someone you care a lot about died," said Mika coldly. His tone made Mina shudder, an action which the boy promptly ignored. "Do you want to put your mother through all that."

"But… she doesn't… she doesn't know if I'll actually die in the Military Brigade…" muttered Mina defensively.

"You don't know that, Mina," replied Mika, lowering his brows at her. Mina turned to fix her rather tame (compared to his) glare on him. But within seconds, Carolina's glare softened when she noted that Mika's expression was… softer than usual. "The future isn't fixed. Tomorrow, we could still be alive, or we could drop dead. Tomorrow, the walls of _Trost_ could still be up, or they could be breached by the _Colossus Titan_."

That latter option made Mina shiver, but she was still confused as to what he meant. She was about to ask, only for Augus to interrupt her.

"You could survive as a _Survey Corp_ for decades, like that Levi person, moving up the ranks until you become a soldier on par with him," continued Mika. Upon hearing that, Mina perked up. Mika paused for a moment to let her think about that, and when he went on, the girl slouched forward. "Or you could die in your first expedition."

"That-"

"You could live to see humanity win this war," interrupted Mika, not bothering to keep up his manners as he grumbled at the slightly younger girl, brows lowered into a somewhat irritated expression. "Or, you could die from an accident in the Training Brigade."

"But-"

"None of this is confirmed," interrupted Mika again. "And that's why Ms Carolina is worried. She knows that you can potentially do great things in the future, but she doesn't want to lose you. She doesn't show it, but she loves you more than either me, Nac or Annie. You're her flesh and blood, and she doesn't want to lose someone _that_ close to her."

"I… I never really thought about it that way…" muttered Mina, sounding sheepish as she rubbed the back of her neck. Mika simply huffed at that, finding the slight scolding he gave Mina to be rather theraputic. He did expect that response, however, as Mina wasn't as… lets say _mature_ as Mika. She, at least from what Nac told him, had never lost anyone close to her in the past, and the odd timing of her mother's job meant that they couldn't get too close to each other. The girl wouldn't understand, not yet anyways, the pain of losing a comrade.

"Well, now you know," deadpanned Mika, having to stop himself from saying: _"Of course you didn't."_. And for a moment, neither spoke. Mina was obviously contemplating her overreaction to her mother's denial of her joining the Military Brigade, and Mika gave her enough space to do so as he reached into his pocket and pulled a raisin out to pop into his mouth.

"What should I do…" muttered Mina at last, looking at Augus with a rather scared gaze. He was clearly confused at what she meant as he swallowed the raisin, though Mina thankfully rephrased herself. "I… I stepped out of line with my mum… I don't know… if she…"

"Just talk to her," suggested Mika, interrupting Mina as he pulled out another raisin to pop into his mouth. The boy didn't stop to chew, simply speaking as he did. "She loves you a lot, and I have no doubt that she'll forgive you if you just say sorry."

"How… how do you know that?" asked Mina, raising an eyebrow. But it didn't seem skeptical, seeming rather… well… _playful_. "The future isn't fixed, y'know? We won't know if she'll be so eager to forgive me."

"That's true, but I have a feeling that the will," said Mika flatly. Mina's response was a soft chuckle as she gave him a playful punch on the shoulder as she chuckled.

"Since when did you become an optimist, Mikazuki? Nac's personality rubbing off on ya?" asked Mina sarcastically. Mika rolled his eyes in response as he shrugged. He had no proper response to that, so he stayed silent and sat there.

And there they sat, for the better part of the afternoon and into the evening. Mina eventually got sick of watching the water in the ravine flow calmly and stood to leave, with Mika following close behind.

* * *

 **Back at the Carolina Residence**

The first thing which Mika noticed when they got back to Mina's house was the fact that Ms Carolina had apparently gotten off work early. The older lady was speaking with Nac and Annie, all three sitting on the couch when both Mika and Mina returned from their… walk.

Right when they stepped into the house, all eyes turned to regard them. Mina locked eyes with her mother, and the older Carolina seemed to expect her daughter to glare at her with angered eyes, so it was rather surprising to her when she saw that her child was looking at her with her usual expression: kind, friendly, and perhaps regretful.

"Hey… mum," greeted Mina awkwardly, and Mika gave a nod to greet the older woman. Ms Carolina responded with a nod of her own, and for a while, no one spoke. Mina and Mika stood at where they were while Ms Carolina, Annie and Nac just sat on the couch. Tias seemed somewhat tense at the current situation while Annie appeared to be more indifferent and blank looking, much like Augus.

"Mina…" muttered Ms Carolina. Her voice was soft, but in the current silence, everyone could hear her and turned to stare at her as she cleared her throat. "Could we… speak… in private?"

Upon saying that last word, Ms Carolina turned to Nac. The boy gave a nod and stood, motioning to Annie to do the same. She complied, and as she stood, Nac turned to Mika. The blue eyed boy didn't need to be told what Tias wanted him to do, and within seconds, the three of them were headed up to the shared room on the second floor.

Nac did spare a small glance back to Mina before he walked up. For a second, they locked their gazes with each other, and Mina swore that she saw that Tias' gaze was a positive one, but he broke eye contact before she could confirm it.

* * *

 **Upstairs**

The first thing Mika did when he walked into the shared bedroom was to plop down onto Nac's single bed. Apparently wanting to give him some space, Nac moved to sit on Mina's bed while Annie leapt up onto her bed on the top bunk, laying down on it without a second thought.

And without missing a beat, Nac asked, "Judging from how Mina turned to look at Ms Carolina, you somehow managed to change her mind?"

"Ah," confirmed Mika with a nod. Annie, from her top bunk, gave an amused snort as she positioned her hands behind her head to act as makeshift pillows.

"I'll give you props for that," she said. "It's hard to change Mina's mind when it comes to stuff like this. How'd you manage it?"

Nac's expression as he looked at him told Mika that he was also curious, but he gave a shrug. "I just told her the truth."

"That Ms Carolina is just worried for her?" inquired Nac. "She already knew about that."

"She doesn't know the entire reason as to why she's worried," rebutled Mika. "I just told her the whole reason."

"I guess you've got a point," muttered Nac with a shrug. Mika gave a small nod, and for a second the entire room went silent. Annie seemingly lost interest in the Mina's situation as soon as Mika gave Nac his first reply, simply laying down to perhaps have an early night's rest, while Nac seemed to be doing his best to try and listen in to Mina and Ms Carolina's conversation… somehow. Mika himself just sat on Nac's bed, his back against the wall, rather content with their current silence.

"You two are joining the Military Brigade with Mina, aren't you?" inquired Mika, breaking the silence as Annie and Nac stared at him. Annie stayed silent as Nac chuckled.

"Well, yeah," admitted Nac with a smile. "I mean, it's kinda obvious, right? I'm sure Mina already told you that."

"Ah," confirmed Mika.

"It's just… I guess, a matter of loyalty, or friendship in my case," explained Nac, and Annie gave a low growl which sent a small chill up Tias' spine, though he ignored it as he went on. "On my part, I am also rather interested in joining the Brigade, even if Mina didn't want to. More of a childhood dream than anything. Annie… I… erm…"

"I'm just joining to keep you two in line," finished Annie for Nac. "We can't have either of you breaking a bone or get courtmarshaled by accident."

Nac's response to that was a sheepish chuckle and a nervous cheek scratch while Mika gave an amused huff.

"What about you, anyways, Mika?" asked Nac. "We never really asked you about whether or not you intend on following us."

"I am," replied Mika almost instantly. Nac and, to a rather mild extend, Annie turned to look at Augus with a somewhat surprised look at how quickly and willingly Mika agreed to joining them in the Military Brigade. Mika noted that as he went on. "It'd be less boring."

"Oh, I see…" muttered Nac with a nod. "Well, whatever the reason, it'd be reassuring to have you by our side, at least for me."

Annie gave a grunt, seemingly agreeing with Tias, who gave a thumbs up. Mika gave an amused huff as Nac chuckled and scratched his cheek. While he scratched, however, Mika couldn't help but start to feel a little… worried for his three… acquaintances.

While it was true that the future was not fixed, Mika was still worried for their sake. Sure, they could survive, but he placed extra emphasis on _could_. They _could_ still die by a handful of means, perhaps during their time as Trainees even. Mika knew that deaths in training, while rather uncommon, did happen, after all. And he knew that if they made it far enough, them joining the _Survey Corps_ would only make things worse.

His thoughts were interrupted, however, when Mina, rather abruptly, burst into the room, with Ms Carolina following behind her, albeit rather slowly as from where Mika sat, he could see that she was still making her way up the stairs as Mina burst in.

"GUYS, WE'VE GOT THE GREENLIGHT!" she proclaimed, raising her arms into the air in excitement as Nac stood up, nearly hitting his head on the top bunk as he did.

"Greenlight for what, now?" asked Nac, moving over to Mina's side, only to have the small girl grip him by the shoulders, tightly might I add, and pull him close, close enough to see that she had literal stars in her eyes. Annie, leaning on the edge of the top bunk, watched in amusement alongside Augus as Mina began shaking Nac back and forth.

"TO JOIN THE TRAINEE CORPS!" she answered, and Nac's expression visibly went from calm and friendly to enthusiastic in a heartbeat, and within a few seconds, both he and Mina were speaking gibberish, most likely thanks to their excitement. Annie stayed out of it, but Mina and Nac were too occupied with celebrating to notice. Mika, on the other hand, was watching in amusement.

While Nac and Mina literally began jumping up and down in joy, Mika noted that Ms Carolina was staring at him. Turning to return her gaze, she saw that she was motioning for him to come out to her. He complied, and when he was out, she gently shut the door to the shared bedroom. Only Annie seemed to notice him leaving, but she didn't think too much about it.

"So you decided to let them?" questioned Mika, though he knew that it was a rhetorical question. Ms Carolina seemed to note how it was a rhetorical question as well, as she gave a soft chuckle.

"Yes… it was foolish of me," confirmed the older woman as she gave a small smile. She seemed worried, but also rather confident for her children, adopted or not. "But… thanks to you, I'm more confident now that they should be able to make it."

Mika gave a small nod to acknowledge her, and she went on.

"You… you do intend to join them in the Military Brigade, don't you?" she asked, kneeling down to look Mika in the eye. Augus gave a nod, and she slouched over a tad in response. She seemed ready to argue against his choice, but instead, she nodded. "Very well then. But… please… be careful. And… keep them safe if you can."

"I will," said Mika, and his tone told the older Carolina that he meant what he said.

"Thank you, Mikazuki," thanked Ms Carolina, patting the kid's head. It gave Augus a rather warm feeling in his gut, but he ignored it as the older woman stood up. "Perhaps you should join them now."

Mika's simple response was a small nod as the woman turned to give her kids space. When she was out of sight, Mika moved to enter the shared room, where Mina and Nac were speaking about what they intended to do when/if they joined the Military Brigade. Both were sitting on the floor, while Annie was on Nac's bed, listening unintently to them.

When Mika came in, Mina and Nac gladly invited him over to speak with them. Mika listened, like Annie, unintently to them, though he couldn't help but crack a small smile on occasion whenever he saw Mina or Nac said something amusing about their possible future as soldiers. The boy also noted that Annie did the same as well.

After a rather long time listening to Mina and Nac, Mika found himself starting to feel strange. It made him quirk a brow in confusion, but at this point, he it didn't bother him. Instead, he smiled.

' _Perhaps it's time to consider them more than acquaintances,'_ thought the boy as Nac spoke about possibly becoming a part of Team Levi and for Annie to lower his expectations by telling him it's close to impossible. _'Friends, perhaps?"_

And after a quick thought, Augus gave a small smirk and nodded. It lasted for less then a second.

' _Yeah… friends. I'll try to keep them safe. If the Walls ever get breached… I'll just get_ Barbatos _into the fray.'_

' _One year…'_ thought Mikazuki as he stood under the intense heat of the sun alongside half a dozen other Trainees at the southern training grounds of _Rose_. Buried among countless other Trainees were Mina and Annie, but Mika couldn't make them out. The only person whom he knew was close to him at the moment was Nac, and that was because he was standing right next to him.

* * *

' _Has it really been that long…?'_

While it wasn't precisely an entire year, more of an eleven month ordeal, it still surprised Augus that he managed to come this far without the guidance of Orga or his fellow soldiers… and how much more independant he's become.

While the boy did still rely on Nac, Mina and (occasionally) Annie for orders, he was given a lot more opportunities to be an independent child. He did things which he wanted more often than he did things for others, and the piloy, while unused to this at first, grew accustomed to his new way of life relatively quickly.

Aside from his relationships with the three other kids improving impressively, Mika also noted how he seemed to slowly but surely forget about the _Barbatos_. When he had first moved in with Mina, the boy had visited the barn which housed the _Gundam_ on several occasions, usually to think about things in a more private location or to simply stock up on rations for when he would inevitably need to get back into the _Mobile Suit_. He stopped right about the time when he began actively talking with the others, which seemed to happen after he and Annie were on good terms with each other. It was probably a good thing, as if he did not, the cockpit of his unit would probably be filled to the brim with stale bread within the year, and he was sure that Nac and Mina would grow curious as to where he had disappeared to if he didn't stop.

About five days ago, Ms Carolina (rather reluctantly) filed the four of them into the Trainee Corps. Mina, Nac and Annie got in with little issue, but Mika was… complicated. Apparently, entry into the Trainee Corp Brigade required identification papers, something which Mika lacked. Thankfully, making some identification papers wasn't too hard, though Mika had to stretch to think of some things he had to put on it, such as his place of birth, which was left as an unspecified part of _Shiganshina_. Familial bonds were simple, just Ms Carolina. The fact that he didn't have and biological parents, at least not to his knowledge, made it rather simple.

It took about three days for them to get a response from the Military Brigade regarding their admission into the Trainee Brigade. Surprisingly, at least to Mika, they were accepted with little hassle. The boy expected this to take a lot longer, but he never mentioned that as he did not wish to dampen Nac or Mina's spirits.

During those three days, Nac and Mina, being the two most knowledgeable of the four regarding the Military Brigades, told the blue eyed kids what to expect. According to them, they would be shipped into the southernmost region of _Rose_ as they hailed from the southern district. There, they would be separated by gender and placed into two different barracks. They had at least one day to grow accustomed to their new living arrangements, and on the second day, their drill sergeant would be there to 'welcome' them, as Nac had put it.

Just one day after they got their greenlight for the Trainee Brigade, a representative from the _Garrisons_ had arrived to pick them up. Unsurprisingly, all four of them had their stuff packed into bags. While Mina and Nac had some rather sizable bags, Mika and Annie had smaller ones which had their bare essentials.

The _Garrison_ soldier had led them onto a boat which had its course set for _Wall Rose_ , a boat which was packed with at least fifty other people whom were around their age or older. Nac had handily explained/pointed out the obvious that this boat would be taking them to the Southern Training Grounds of _Rose_. Before they left, Ms Carolina had asked them to write home every so often. Mina and Nac promised to do so, though Annie and Mika made none, even if the former did say that she would _try_.

On the boat, the four of them had met up with Reiner and Bertholdt. The two, or at least the big blonde of the duo, were ecstatic to see their pals on the same boat as them as, in Reiner's own words, "I wouldn't want to get _bored_ to death on here!". Mina and Nac replied to him with equal enthusiasm, though Annie and Mika chose to keep their distance and stare out of the boat, hoping to enjoy the somewhat calm ride. They did, for the most part, as the boat ride was pleasantly quaint, aside from the occasional loud sound which came up during certain intervals.

When they arrived, all fifty or so of the soldiers were, as Nac had said, divided into two groups by gender. Mina said her farewells to Nac and Mika while Annie just stared. When they were all divided, two _Garrison_ representatives led each group to separate barracks which, according to Nac, was located in the very close to a massive field which Nac told Mika would be where they would train.

The barracks, both of them, were easily large enough to fit at least an entire army, with half a dozen double deckered beds which looked much sturdier than the ones in the Carolina Residence. Each bed, both the upper and lower bunks, were large enough to fit two full sized adults. Mika and Nac shared a single bed. Reiner and Bertholdt claimed the top bunk of the bed Mika and Nac were on, and somehow, Mika and Bertholdt slept through Reiner's loud snoring. Nac, on the other hand, was not as lucky, or at least that was what those eye bags he had the next day told Mika.

Speaking of the next day, all the Trainees were woken up by the sound of the door slamming open. Well, almost everyone. Mika, Bertholdt and a handful of other lads required some extra persuasion to get them up. Once all of them were out of bed, the Trainees were issued new sets of clothing, the standard issue Trainee Corp uniform. They looked just like the _Survey Corp_ and _Garrison_ uniforms, except with a different symbol on the back. Instead of a flower ( _Garrison_ ) or the 'Wings of Freedom' ( _Survey Corps_ ), the symbol of the Trainees was that of twin blades crossing over each other. It was a simple design which Mika didn't mind, though Nac had geeked out at least a little bit when he had worn the outfit.

Every last one of the would-be-Trainees were instructed to get dressed and head to the _massive_ trainingfield which was, thankfully, rather close to the barracks. They had to do all this within the hour.

True to what they were told to do, the soldiers, or at least a majority of them, were able to show up at the training grounds within the hour. Nac had insisted that they show up early to show that they were not tardy and were worth keeping around, and to that end, he had quite literally dragged a half awake Mika with him. The two met a dozen or so unfamiliar faces while they were making their way towards the field, both boys and girls, though none of them were either Mina or Annie.

And that had led the two/four of them to the present time, with Mikazuki still half awake, probably about to fall asleep standing, while their official instructor got ready to address them all.

 **Yes, I edited this. Just felt like doing so. The latter half of this chapter is an excerpt from C10 which felt out of place, so I shoved it in here for readability sake.**

 **Alright, now I'm sure you know what the next chapter will be. I'll just get to work on it, so I'll see you… whenever I see you guys again.**

 **I would reply to reviews, but there is nothing to reply to. I'm a dead profile now apparently.**


	10. Trainees

"From this day forth, each and every one of you here are members of the 104th Trainee Corps!"

Straightening himself up when he heard those words, Mikazuki Augus lowered his brows and refocused his attention on the man who was currently standing before them on a small platform. Roughly as tall as Reiner, his skin was either naturally brown or had been under the sun for too long. His eyes were sunken into his face and his beard was more of a goatee.

"Unfortunately for all of _you_ , I, _Keith Shadis_ , will be your platoon commander for these next four years! I am not about to give you _maggots_ a warm welcome. Currently, in _my_ eyes, all of you are livestock! No… you are all _worse_ than livestock!"

Keith Shadis… Mika thought he recognised that name. Wasn't he a former commander of those _Survey Corps_? He recalled his name being brought up on several instances by Nac and Mina, though never when he was talking about what they should expect. The man did look vaguely familiar, though Mika didn't care enough to try and see if he remembered him. It didn't really matter anyways. If he did save his ass during a prior meeting when he was still piloting _Barbatos_ , it wouldn't matter as no one even knew about his little secret anyhow.

Beside him, Nac seemed to be resisting the urge to smile, something which made Mika quirk an eyebrow up. He knew his friend was a fan of the Military Brigade, or at least ⅓ of them, and that he would often nerd out when they were speaking of them, so seeing him trying to _not_ geek out was a first.

Then again, being positive looking may draw some attention to him. And from what he was currently hearing…

"You, what is your name?!" demanded Keith, who had moved from his platform after finishing his introductory speech and was now giving his new recruits a 'warm welcome'. Mika couldn't see who he was interrogating at the moment, but Nac, being much taller, could see that the one being interrogated was blonde and rather short, with a somewhat feminine face and large, hazel eyes, the latter detail being something Nac had to look hard to notice thanks to how far he was from Arlert. The only thing Mika saw was the blonde hair, and even then, he could only see the very top of the victim's head.

" _Armin Arlert_ from _Shiganshina_ , sir!" came a voice that sounded as though it were trying its best to be brave, definitely the one whom Keith was yelling at. Nac didn't recognise that name, but he could see that Keith's expression soften just a little, only to instantly harden once more within a second.

"Is that so? What a ridiculous name! Did your father give it to you?!" demanded Keith, obviously trying to scare the wits out of the blonde. However, to his credit, Armin did not lose his (somewhat) calm demeanor as he gulped and replied, albeit shakily.

"N-No sir! My grandfather did!" blurted Armin, making Shadis snort and make a _harumph_ sound.

"Why are you here, Armin Arlert?!" demanded Keith, arms still behind his back as he narrowed his eyes.

"To contribute to Mankind's victory, sir!" shouted Armin at what everyone thought to be the top of his lungs, and a handful of people, even Keith himself, seemed surprised, though the latter's was replaced with a neutral expression as he gave a nod firm.

"How commendable of you, Armin Arlert," complemented Keith flatly before placing a hand atop the blonde's head. "We can use you as Titan Bait. Now, Third line, face backwards!"

While Mika had no reaction to what just happened, he noted how Nac seemed to be doing his best to stifle a chuckle. Averting his eyes ever so slightly so that he could see his friend, Augus raised a brow to show his confusion, which Nac responded to with a small, practically unnoticeable shrug. Mika kept his gaze on Nac for a few moments before a pained yell caught both of their attentions.

Mika, being short and all that, was unable to clearly see what caused it. But, as with Armin, Nac could.

"Who gave you permission to sit, _Jean Kirstein_?" demanded Keith, glaring down at what Nac assumed to be 'Jean'. "If such a simple injury, one which did _not_ even _draw blood_ , can bring you to your knees, then there is _no_ hope for you to be enlisted into the _Military Police Brigade_."

Looking in between their would-be comrades, Nac and Mika saw the one whom Keith was addressing. As he had said, a boy, most likely 'Jean', was slouched over on his knees, hands wrapped around his head in pain. Keith paid no mind to his current dilemma, simple moving on to his next target.

As Keith moved on to his next interrogation victim, some freckled boy called _Marco Bolt_ , Mika gave Nac a look which made the taller boy question his blind love in the Military Brigades, or specifically the _Survey Corps_. Nac kept insisting that they were different, but Mika didn't really care, usually bunching all three major brigades into one bundle to make them easier to remember. The taller boy didn't seem to notice, however, simply keeping his gaze fixed on the head in front of him.

Shadis' 'interrogation' of the 104th Trainee Brigade went on for roughly half an hour, and during that time, Mika found himself endlessly amused by everything Keith had spouted out in spite of being half awake (at best). The man sure could talk, or at the very least, dish out some creative insults. It was a tactic which Mika had heard of, a scare tactic to show the new recruits that they were signing up for more than what they bargained for.

After about forty minutes, Keith himself came walking up in front of Mika and Nac's row. The two of them were standing close to the center of the row, so it took some time for him to get to Augus and Tias, though when he was, he instantly gave the two of them the 'cold glare'. To his credit, Keith's glare was probably much more intense than Annie and Mika's. It even managed to give Mika a minor shiver down his spine, though he kept his neutral expression as Keith walked past him, not even making eye contact with the commander as he passed him. Unfortunately, Nac was not as composed, as his somewhat calm expression broke when Keith gave him the eye.

"You, who are you?!" demanded Keith, stopping in front of Nac, his gaze locking onto Tias, who froze in fear for half a second. Though when that time was up, he gave the Military Brigade's Salute and responded.

"Nac Tias," responded the taller boy firmly, clenching his fist tight as he rested it against his heart. "From the Eastern side of _Trost_!"

Keith simply narrowed his eyes at that. "Nac Tias, why the Hell are you here?"

"To devote myself to mankind's cause!" replied Nac, straightening himself even more. "And to serve as a _Survey Corp_ if I can…"

Mika rotated his eyes up to give his friend a questioning stare, one which Nac didn't notice for obvious reasons.

"Hm… that is all fine and well, endeavour for it," muttered Keith, his expression softening just a little. Nac, for his part, seemed to calm down a tad, at least until Keith narrowed his eyes. "But, know this… as things are right now, you have a higher chance of dying in an accident in training than you do in becoming a _Survey Corp_ …"

Nac's response was a gulp and a horrified expression which made Augus snort. Thankfully, Keith didn't notice that as he moved on to his next target, a blonde who was not too far from the two of them. And at that point, Nac could finally let loose the breath that was stuck in his throat.

"You, who are you and why are you here?!" he demanded.

"I… I'm _M-Mylius Zeramuski_ , sir!" replied the blonde, saluting shakily as Keith glared at him. Rather unfortunately for 'Mylius', Keith noted his stutter and took advantage of it.

"Why do you have a stutter, Zeramuski?" demanded Keith, inching his face closer to his target's. Mylius seemed uncertain on how he should reply, though even if he could, Keith would have cut him off. "Such nervous behavior is not needed in any of the three Military Brigades!"

"I… I s-see, sir…" muttered Mylius, most likely without thinking, prompting Keith to raise his brows, and for the blonde to gulp and start sweating.

"Mylius Zeramuski, why the Hell are you here?" he demanded, eyes narrowed.

"To… to try and earn enough to help my family…" muttered Mylius, frowning as he tightened his fist which rested on his chest. Keith huffed at that.

"Admirable, but horribly foolish and naive of you," said Keith with a frown. And, with a simple hand motion, turned Mylius around a full 180 degrees, much like what he did for Armin. "We can also use you as Titan Bait. Third Line, facing backwards!"

As Keith moved on and out of sight, Mika turned his head ever so slightly and quirked an eyebrow. Nac turned ever so slightly towards his shorter friend and gave an oddly nervous expression, one which told the pilot that his view on the _Military Brigades_ were changing a little. Their eye contact was maintained for roughly thirty seconds before Keith spoke up once more.

"You have it backwards, _Connie Springer_ …" came Keith's voice, making both Nac and Mika turn to look at where Keith had ended up at. As usual, Mika was unable to see what was going on, but Nac, being much taller, was able to do so. Keith was now interrogating the row behind them, and that he also had a bald boy held up in the air in between his hands, roughly at eye level/half a metre above ground. "It should've been the first thing you learnt before even _thinking_ of joining the Trainee Brigade… that salute is a symbol that openly declares your _determination_ to offer your life to our cause! Is your heart on the right side?!"

Connie, the poor lad being held up in between Keith's hands, didn't seem as though he could reply at the moment, simply giving a soft squeal as his head was squished. Nac, who saw everything out of the corner of his eye, gave a soft snicker. The boy easily assumed why he was currently being berated thanks to the things which Keith had yelled out.

Rather surprisingly, however, Keith had stopped his reprimandation of Connie Springer rather prematurely, as he had dropped him back onto the ground, instead zoning in on another person in the crowd. This time, neither Nac nor Mika could see the person whom Shadis had zoned in on, but the silence which followed had put them on edge, and Mika swore that he heard something which sounded like someone taking a bite out of a steamed potato.

"Oi…" muttered Keith, breaking the silence as he turned to glare at the one who caught his attention. The new victim, a girl with reddish brown hair, practically a brunette, and light brown eyes didn't seem to notice. True to what Mika had heard, she was indeed chowing down on a steamed potato held in her right hand during their welcoming committee, and seemed too preoccupied with her 'meal' to really pay attention to her surroundings. "You… what are you doing…?"

When he muttered those words, practically everyone around the brunette, aside from those in front of her, averted their eyes onto her. Ironically, the girl herself didn't know that she was being addressed. Instead, she took another bite of her potato as though nothing was going on. And, rather unfortunately for her, this simple action served only to infuriate Keith much, _much_ more, as the heavily tanned man quite literally dashed up in front of her, his face just _barely_ two inches away from hers, an action which shocked the girl immensely.

" _YOU_! I AM TALKING TO _**YOU**_!" exclaimed Keith, loud enough for the entire 104th Trainee Platoon, front, back, left and right, to hear. Unable to saturate their curiosity, a handful of would-be Trainees, Nac and Mika included, swiveled their heads around to have a look at what was going on. Unfortunately for Mika, he had to look _between_ the torsos (and occasionally the crotches) of his fellow Trainees while Nac was tall enough to peer over most of them.

The girl whom Keith was yelling at quickly sped up her chewing speed thanks to the adrenaline rush she just had. Once she had swallowed the piece in her mouth, the young lady gave her platoon commander a rigid salute, slamming her potato holding hand onto her heart. When that was done, she responded, though said response was something which Keith wasn't too particularly interested in.

" _Sasha Blouse_ from _Dauper Village_ in _Wall Rose's_ Southern District, sir!" she introduced, still not understanding why Keith had 'greeted' her in such a way, apparently. For his part, Keith straightened himself out to his usual height and gave 'Sasha' a glare which she wouldn't forget anytime soon.

"Sasha Blouse… what is that you have in your right hand?" demanded Keith, his tone sounding calm, though Mika and, to some degree, Nac could hear some real hostility behind them. It was enough to make the latter sweat a little, though the former had no reaction to the underlying hostile tone outside of acknowledging that it existed. On the total opposite end of the spectrum, Sasha seemed oblivious to it.

"A Steamed Potato, sir…" she muttered, looking up at Shadis, her eyes locked with his as she kept her salute.

"And where did you _find_ this potato, Sasha Blouse?" demanded Keith, and the first few hints of doubt and fear began creeping their way onto the brunette's face as she responded.

"From the mess hall, sir," she responded. How she had gotten into the mess hall without anyone knowing was beyond everyone's comprehension, even Keith's, though it wasn't exactly the most pressing issue they had at the moment.

"In other words, you _stole_ it," muttered Keith, eyes narrowing ever so slightly. Those around Sasha slowly inched away from her, not wanting to be caught within in the danger zone if Keith were to snap. Fortunately for them, all of Keith's attention was currently directed towards Sasha, who remained rigid. "Why did you decide to take the potato out _now_?"

"It… it is best to eat a Steamed Potato before it gets cold…" responded Sasha, sounding nervous (kinda), appalled and even _shocked_ at what Keith had asked. "It felt as though it was getting cold… so I thought now was the best time to have it…"

Keith simply looked stunned at that response as he frowned deeply, eyes narrowed. "No… I still don't understand… why did you eat it…?"

"Platoon Commander… are you _asking_ me why people _eat_ potatoes?" asked Sasha, uncertainty slowly creeping into her voice. Unbeknownst to her, her odd response made practically everyone in the field, or at least everyone that was within hearing distance anyways, turn towards her and stare in wide eyed shocked. Even Mikazuki had to widen his eyes ever so slightly to show his shock. Hell, even _Keith himself_ was dumbfounded, simply staring at Sasha with wide eyes as he thought about a response.

Before he could, however, Sasha did the unexpected and, with a thoughtful expression, ripped off a small chunk, roughly ⅓, off the steamed potato she was currently holding. That simple motion confused everyone, at least until she handed the smaller chunk of potato out to Keith, though she did have a pained expression as she handed it to him.

"...this half is for you, sir," said Sasha as Keith took the potato chunk. The Platoon Commander looked at his chunk, dumbfounded.

"Half…?" muttered Keith, looking towards Sasha, who gave a massive, goofy smile.

* * *

 **Roughly five hours later**

"She's still at it…"

Huffing in response, Mika shoved his hands into his pockets as he continued to watch Sasha Blouse run around the field with Annie.

When Sasha had given Keith the potato chunk, the Platoon Commander had, after recovering from his shock, ordered her to run around the _entire field_ until she could not run anymore. Mika and Annie found that it was just a nicer way to say: ' _run until you die_ '. He did give an alternative, however, she could skip dinner. Shockingly to everyone, she chose to run until she died over skipping a meal.

When she began running, Keith allowed her to finish the one she currently had. He said it was so that they didn't waste a perfectly good Steamed Potato, though some of the other Trainees, Nac included, had a feeling that he didn't exactly want Sasha to die. Though to be fair, everyone probably expected her to choose to skip dinner and not to run until she was on the brink of death.

While she ran, Keith went on with his interrogation as though nothing happened. It took roughly **five** hours for the entire thing to end thanks to the sheer amount of victims to interrogate, and when it was done, Keith ordered them to head to the field's Dining Hall to recuperate and to change back into their casual attire. Everyone except for Sasha, anyways. Before they left, however, Keith gave them a warning, one which reinforced the fact that he was going easy on them today and that things would be much, _much_ more harsh in the future.

Mika and Nac had met up with Mina, Annie, Reiner and Bertholdt outside the Dining Hall. they had exchanged quick greetings before the former four moved on to make acquaintances with their fellow Trainees. Mina did move on to speak to other Trainees thanks to her history in the _Karanses_ District, though. Mika and Annie were uninterested in that, so they just stood by the edge of a small incline which overlooked the Training fields.

Neither Mika nor Annie were keen on starting a conversation, simply looking out to the field, out at Sasha as she sprinted along with iron-willed determination. Both were immensely impressed and endlessly amused at her stamina, though it was probably for all the wrong reasons.

"How much longer until she drops dead?" piped up Annie after some time, making Mika turn to her. The slightly shorter blonde teen had her gaze firmly fixed on Sasha out in the distance as she spoke, so she did not notice the shrug which Mika gave.

"I… I honestly don't know," answered Mika truthfully as he tugged on his sleeveless shirt, which was now technically his innerwear for his Trainee Corp outfit. The boy still had his _Tekkadan_ jacket, but he had a feeling that he wouldn't have many opportunities to wear it from here on out.

Of course, as the boy was wearing his sleeveless attire, his _Alaya-Vijnana_ spines were visible to everyone. He got several stares, but the boy ignored practically all of them.

And rather abruptly, a pair of arms slung themselves around both Annie and Mika's shoulders. Both of them almost instantly knew that it was Reiner who did that, and it was confirmed when both of them turned to look at the person.

"Reiner," greeted Annie half heartedly while Augus kept quiet. Reiner either didn't notice his silence or he didn't care as he chuckled.

"Come on, you two!" protested Reiner heartily as he, perhaps unintentionally, tightened his grip on Mika and Annie's necks, not dangerously tight, though enough to make both wince. "It's gotta be _boring_ to be _this_ antisocial, right? I mean, we've got four years here, at least! May as well make some friends, right?"

"Rather bold of you to assume that we're being antisocial, Reiner," spat Annie, narrowing her eyes as she pinched the larger blonde's palm, prompting him to yelp and release Augus and Leonhardt from his grip. When they were released, Annie turned to glare at Braun, who was nursing his palm indignantly.

"But it's true, y'know?" protested Reiner, shaking his pinched palm. "You don't talk to anyone outside of me, Bert, Mina and Nac! Both of you! You need to expand your horizons in terms of friendship!"

"That is up to us to decide," retorted Mika, giving Reiner an irritated glare. The blonde flinched under the pilot's gaze, but he held his ground.

"Look, is this because of your… erm…" muttered Reiner, moving an arm onto his back to indicate what he was referring to. Mika simply closed his eyes and sighed.

"No, I couldn't care less," replied Mika, which was probably the entire truth honestly. As things were right now, the _Alaya Vijnana_ spines were not much more than a minor inconvenience, rather ironic as they used to be his most valuable assets in a previous life. Now, however, they were simply there to attract attention and to remind him of his past life, nothing more. "Besides, you can't force us to do this."

"Well, Mina did kinda force you to go with Annie to come visit us all those months ago, right?" said Reiner for the lack of a better reason. Mika, on the other hand, gave Braun a harsh glare which told him that this conversation was currently headed down a path which would not end well. And, while Reiner, and a lot of other people who lived in these Walls for that matter, had been fortunate enough to not be on the receiving end of Mika's irritation, or anger if things got too heated, the blonde had a feeling that he didn't want to experience it firsthand as he raised both his hands in defeat. "But hey, it was probably a personal request, so who am I to judge?"

Mika giving a snort and walking past Reiner, into the Dining Hall, told the large blonde that he was in the clear (for now), prompting him to give a relieved sigh. Reiner then turned to Annie and was met with a glare which _dared_ him to say what he was about currently thinking. Tensing up, Reiner refrained from doing so, satisfying Annie as she followed Augus into the Dining Hall, meeting up with Mina and Nac on the way.

* * *

 **Inside the Dining Hall**

The Dining Hall in the field was, shockingly enough, large enough to fit every one of the 104th Southern Trainees, which was impressive as it was able to hold close to a thousand teenages/young adults with minimal cramping. Whether this was some form of witchcraft or just impressive workmanship was something no one really thought about. Every table in the place was large enough to fit at least four Trainees, perhaps eight with some major cramping.

When everyone had filed in for 'dinner', the Trainees had split up into several smaller groups, mainly group of friends anyways, mainly lads from the same district. Rather unsurprisingly, Mika, Nac, Annie and Mina all sat on a single table, each with some sort of bowled 'soup' in front of them.

During their dinner, Mina, Nac, Annie and Mika had chatted between themselves regarding their current situations, or at least the former two did. Annie and Mika, as usual, listened much more than they spoke. Their conversation was mostly dominated by Mina and Nac saying that they were happy that they were soldiers now or them talking about their excitement regarding the upcoming Maneuver Gear training, though Annie did mention CQC Training in the future which piqued Mika's interest.

Of course, there were several other conversation topics, such as Mina speaking up about several of her old _Karanses_ friends being in the same brigade as them, namely Mylius and a pair of lovers named Franz and Hanna. It was probably the first time Augus heard those names, though Nac and Annie seemed to at least recognise them.

The four had spoken for a few minutes before they noted how a small crowd had formed around a table. Nac managed to figure out the names of those who were currently being assaulted with questions, _Eren Jaeger_ , _Mikasa Ackerman_ and Armin Arlert, according to him. Keeping their ears open, the four also heard that they were from _Shiganshina_ and were being asked about the Titans.

Mina and Nac themselves would have joined in to ask about _Shiganshina_ , but they already had two 'guides' to _Shiganshina_. Annie was a good source of info for both, and Mika, while he wasn't from this place, lived a somewhat similar life to those in who lived within _Shiganshina_ , so he could always pretend rather effectively.

While Mina and Nac chatted away about their plans to perhaps become _Survey Corps_ , Mika simply wondered what this new chapter in his life would be like. It would be more difficult than the past year, that much was obvious, but he also wondered if it would be a recap of the incidents at CGS. The Trainee Corps, thus far, seemed similar to CGS. Perhaps they were a little more lenient, but other than that they seemed roughly the same.

Roughly the same… it was enough to make the former pilot think about _Tekkadan_. It brought back the sinking feeling of homesickness which he had not felt in some time, prompting him to think about his older comrades and spacing out a little. However, thanks to his prolonged absence from the military group, and all the new things which seemed to distract him from remembering his old friends, Mika didn't have any real drive to grieve.

A small nudge from Annie was what managed to get Augus to look up to see that a black haired boy was currently face to face with a boy with ash grey hair. They seemed ready to start a fight, much to both Mika and Annie's amusement and Nac and Mina's dismay.

"A fight on day one?" muttered Annie with interest, sounding as though she really wanted this to happen. Mika had a feeling that she did. It was more or less in her nature by now to want conflict to spice things up. That would be reinforced when a small, shadow of a smirk appeared on Annie's face, showing that she was hoping for a fight to break out.

Rather unfortunately, for Annie and Mika's interests, however, the conflict did not escalate much as the ash grey haired boy let up and stopped escalating the conversation, prompting a defeated sigh to escape Annie's lips, prompting Mika to rub her back reassuringly.

"We still have four years," he said in a neutral tone. "A fight's bound to happen."

And Annie only snorted as she took a sip of her soup.

* * *

 **About three hours later**

"You're still here, hm?"

Turning his head around to see Keith Shadis standing behind him, Mika felt himself tense up mildly as his platoon commander walked up beside him. Unlike his previous, stern, commanding self, however, Shadis seemed rather calm at the moment, looking passive as he stared at Augus questioningly.

Mika couldn't exactly blame him for approaching him, however. Almost everyone, including his three pals, had left the field area in the past three hours, with only a handful of Trainees lingering around, chatting idly or thinking about their current dilemma. Mika was among the few who stayed behind to do the latter, though his thoughts were different from what most would expect.

In response to Keith's question, Mika gave a nod, and Keith snorted. "Needed to clear your mind in an area far from the rowdier recruits, hm?"

"...ah," answered Mika, not exactly lying as he did need to clear his mind a little. The similarities between CGS and what he's seen of the Trainee Corps really gave him a sinking feeling of homesickness, though he had no real time to put any real thought into it until now. Keith, rather thankfully, seemed to understand, or at least thought he did, what Mika was going through, as he gave a small nod.

"Get back to your barrack within the hour, Cadet," he ordered, turning to face the much shorter boy as he turned up to stare at the commander, noting that he had a stern expression once more. "Tomorrow will not be as easy as today."

"Ah," was his only response as Keith turned on his heel and walked off, hands still behind his back. Watching as Keith walk off, Mika eventually went back to his usual thoughts whenever he was alone and undisturbed, thinking about _Tekkadan_ as he stared out at the slowly darkening sky.

It was unavoidable, to be sure. Whenever he was alone and the place he was in was relatively silent, all of Mika's thoughts would inevitably drift towards _Tekkadan_. It wasn't annoying, just a little… jarring to say the least.

His thoughts regarding _Tekkadan_ were almost always the same. _'Are they still active?'_ , _'how is Orga?'_ , or _'are they thriving?'_ , these were among the most common questions which he asked himself. However, the more recent question was: _'could I have prevented this from happening if I had killed that thing faster…?'_

It was a fair point, if he were honest. While that _Graze Ein_ thing was powerful, Mika himself was more experienced at using the _Alaya Vijnana_ unit. Experience always outweighed fancy tech… at least he thought it did, so he had the upper hand. So why wasn't he able to dispatch it faster… why… if he did, all of this could have been avoided.

' _No…'_ came a new thought as he sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets. _'Now isn't a time to dwell on these thoughts. Not when I have other things to deal with.'_

With a soft sigh, Augus got himself ready to leave the field, noting how the sun had already set over the horizon, and how he was pretty much the only person left in the area, only to hear a loud yell near the back of the mess hall. Out of curiosity, he had moved to investigate it, wondering if this had anything to do with those 'ghost stories' Mina would tell during the time of year everyone called 'Halloween' as he poked his head out of the corner of the mess hall to see what had yelled.

Rather uninterestingly, the ruckus was not made by a ghost, but instead by Sasha Blouse, whom Mika was led to assume had been let off the hook for running by Keith, and some other, short, blonde girl. The 'Potato Girl', as the entire cafeteria had come to know Sasha as, had bread crumbs lining the edges of her lips and appeared to be passed out, her head on the blonde's lap, while the blonde girl appeared worried for her wellbeing.

"S-Sasha!" she muttered, gently shaking the body of the brunette to no avail. Her facial features then hardened when she realized that Blouse was not getting up anytime soon as she turned her head from side to side. And, rather impressively, she had spotted Mika almost instantly, widening her large blue eyes as she addressed him. "H-Hey, you! Could you lend a hand…?"

Rather unwittingly, Mika stepped out of the corner he had peeked out of and came into full view for the blonde. She considered him for a while before squishing her lips together and slinging Sasha's shoulder around her neck. "Could you help me lift her back to the barracks? I don't think…"

As she spoke, Mika had moved up in front of the little blonde and grabbed Sasha off the ground with the greatest of ease, much to the shock of the blonde, who effectively stopped talking. Without much issue, Augus had slung Sasha over his shoulder as though she was a ragdoll, an action which made the blonde widen her light blue eyes. It was rather justified, however, as Sasha was at least a head and a half taller than Mika, but the initial shock faded away and was replaced with a smile.

"Thank you… Mr…" she began, trailing off when she realized she didn't know his name. The pilot noticed this and decided to give her his name.

"Mikazuki Augus," was her answer. "Don't bother with the Mr."

"Ah, thank you for this, Mikazuki Augus," thanked the blonde as she gave a rigid bow. Mika huffed ever so slightly as he turned on his heel to get the Potato Girl back to the barracks, though the short blonde stopped him before he could go. "Wait, I must ask, are you doing this out of the goodness of your heart… or do you have an ulterior motive?"

Mika knew about what she was talking about, but he didn't feel any need to answer. He simply gave her a simple stare, not too harsh, but it was apparently enough to make the blonde step back in supposed fear, before leaving the fields. Though when he was gone, the blonde sighed.

"Was it really worth it, _Christa_?" came a new voice once Mr Mikazuki was out of sight. The voice was a female one for sure, making the blonde, Christa, tense up, though only for a moment before she turned around to see a tall, tanned and freckled young woman, wearing some standard casual attire. She had a discerning look on her face as she addressed her. "You risked a lot to help that buffoon, you know?"

"Well, she was running all day long…" protested Christa as she craned her neck up to look at the taller woman in the eye. "It was the least I could do to keep her from dying from hunger…"

"Was it a good deed, though, one which was done _out of the goodness of your heart… or do you have an ulterior motive?_ " asked the taller lady, echoing what Christa had asked Mikazuki before he left with Sasha in a somewhat mocking tone. Christa's cheeks lit up when she was asked that.

"It was, _Ymir_!" replied Christa. "I have no ulterior motives for Sasha Blouse! I was simply doing what I thought was just!"

"And do you reckon that boy, Mikazuki Whatever, was doing it out of the goodness of his heart, or he had some _ulterior motives_ of his own?" questioned the taller lady, Ymir, making sure to emphasis the two words. Christa went silent before she issued her answer.

"No…" she responded, making Ymir snort.

"Always seeing the best in others," she grumbled, rolling her eyes as she slapped an arm around Christa's shoulders and began tugging her off. "Now come on, let's get a move on! Don't wanna be caught around her now do we?"

Christa simply remained silent as they walked, not thinking much on the random conversation starters Ymir had attempted. She simply thought about one thing, something which sent a shiver up her spine as she wondered if she made a mistake by allowing Mikazuki to take Sasha.

' _Those eyes… they are eyes of a killer…'_

Knocking on the girl's barracks, Mika found that no one had come to answer it. Perhaps due to there being a lot of noise inside, Augus thought, so he knocked again, this time knocking perhaps a little too hard as the doors shook a tad on that one.

What followed were a few seconds of silence before the door slowly creaked open, revealing the face of a freckled girl with long ginger hair. The girl seemed surprised that it was a fellow Trainee, not a platoon commander, who had knocked on the door with as much force as he did, and perhaps even more so when she saw Sasha Blouse slung over his shoulder.

"Can… I help you?" asked the girl rather awkwardly as she opened the door to the barracks a little more widely, allow Augus to see inside. Granted, he didn't really need or want to look into an entire barrack full of girls who were dressed in casual wear, though he did catch a glimpse of Mina and Annie. The former saw him as well and gave a wave, one which Mika responded with by giving a small nod, while the latter stared at him in amusement, though immediately after that, he removed Sasha from his shoulder and passed her to the ginger.

"She passed out," said Mika, short and simple as the ginger wrapped her arms around Sasha' sweaty waist and nodded.

"So, you got her back, eh? That's sweet of ya," she said with a friendly smile. Mika, on the other hand, snorted.

"Someone asked me to, so I helped," he replied.

"But you helped out of the goodness of your heart, hm?" retorted the ginger, still holding Sasha by the waist. The Potato Girl seemed oblivious, however, simply snoring through the entire conversation. Augus, on the other hand, shrugged as he moved on to the boys barracks, prompting the ginger to drag Sasha over to her bed while another girl shut the door.

"So, Mika helped Potato Girl, huh?" muttered Annie as she laid back down on her bed. Beside her, Mina gave a soft chuckle as she nodded, combing her fingers through her thick black hair. "That's something I didn't think would happen."

"Ah, you'll never know," replied Mina, wincing as she accidentally pulled a string of hair off her scalp. Discarding it, she laid down beside her blonde friend and watched as _Hanna Diament_ set Sasha down on her bed. The Potato Girl was so sweaty that her bed had ended up getting a little soaked, so much so that the one who shared the bed with her opted to sleep on the floor that night. "Mika's got a good heart. I'm sure he's willing to show that from time to time."

And Annie replied to that with a snort as Ymir and Christa entered the barracks.

* * *

 **Over by the other side**

"Where've you been Mika?!" were the first four words which greeted the pilot when he stepped foot into the boy's barracks. They were uttered by Reiner, who had immediately rushed up to greet him when the door creaked open. Slapping his back rather chummily, Reiner led Augus towards the bed he shared with Nac (and to some extent, himself and Bertholdt). Said bed was a little crowded, with Nac speaking to at least three new faces who were all gathered on their bed.

"Mika!" proclaimed Nac when he saw his friend, hopping off the bed to check on his pal. "Where were you? You said you'd stay behind to get some fresh air and that you'd be back within the hour! It's been three!"

His response from Augus was a snort as he shrugged. "I needed more fresh air, I guess."

Reiner himself gave an amused laugh at the response Mika had given while Nac snickered a tad. The three who had gathered on their bed joined in on the laughter, though they had left before long when a platoon commander told them to get some shut eye.

And Augus had no problems sleeping on that day.

* * *

 **The next day**

"Today, we will test your aptitude! Those who cannot do even this are not suited to be used as _Garrison_ troops, not even as Titan Bait! Failures will be sent back to the Reclaimed Lands!"

As he said that, Platoon Commander Keith Shadis began to file out the Trainees who were before him. Mikazuki remembered being woken up early today, something which he pinned on Nac's eagerness to be diligent. Rather ironically, the two had woken up roughly 2 hours earlier than necessary.

After said two hours were up, a separate platoon commander had ordered them to gather at the fields within the hour. Rather thankfully, Mika was wide awake by then, and as a result, both he and Nac were among the first batch of Trainees who arrived at the field.

When Keith Shadis had arrived, he almost immediately got to work on filling in the Trainees on what they were gonna be doing. He would be testing their aptitude for being upright while suspended in the air with twin metal 'strings' which, according to Nac, were taken straight from several maneuver gears which were damaged beyond repair.

Among the two hundred or so Southern Trainees who were present, about half of all Trainees were able to pass the test without too much issue. The other 50% or so were unable to pass thanks to poor aptitude and balance.

A handful of Trainees were able to perform the task perfectly, while most others were required to repeat the task several times before they got through. Among the former half were Mikazuki and Annie. For Augus, the task was rather easy as the feeling of being suspended in the air felt very similar to the feeling of piloting _Barbatos_ when in space. It may have been a year since he had piloted the _Gundam_ , but he had not forgotten the feeling of being connected to his _Mobile Suit_ , not yet anyways.

As for Annie, he just assumed that she was naturally gifted. And to anyone who didn't know that Mika was a pilot, IE practically everyone, Mika himself was also assumed to be naturally gifted.

The other 'naturally' gifted Trainees were _Mikasa Ackerman_ , a black haired girl with grey/blue eyes, Sasha Blouse (something which surprised even Mika), Connie Springer and Jean Kirstein. The latter three did wobble a tad, however, but kept themselves upright. The 'less gifted' ones, ones that kept themselves upright after one or two tries, included Marco Bolt, _Ymir Fritz_ , _Christa Lenz_ and both Mina and Nac. Mika recognised the Christa girl as the one who helped Sasha yesterday, though he didn't really bother remembering it.

After he had passed the Aptitude test, Mika was sent to the side of the field alongside a handful of others who wore proud smirks on their faces. Mika and Annie were the only ones who remained neutral.

Neither Annie nor Mika bothered to strike up a conversation during this time, with the two of them simply standing idly while their fellow soldiers spoke up a storm. About five minutes after they had passed the 'test', Mina and Nac had joined them in the oddly named 'victory corner'.

"You two did pretty amazingly there!" complemented Nac when he and Carolina had joined up with Mika and Annie, gently punching Augus' shoulder as he smirked. Mika simply nodded at that, even if he did feel a little proud. Annie herself also responded with a nod, followed by a snort.

"And what about you, hm?" she asked, sounding rather sarcastic. Nac's face turned mildly red in response as he pursed his lips together. "And you, Mina?"

"Eh… I needed three tries…" muttered Mina rather shyly. "Nac needed five…"

"Mina, you said you'd keep it a secret!" whisper-shouted Nac, his face completely red with embarrassment at this point. Mina's response to that was a sheepish chuckle as she scratched her cheek. Annie, despite herself, could not resist a soft chuckle while Mika allowed himself to give a small smile. Through all this friendly banter, however, the four of them missed the rather impressive and embarrassing scene of a certain Trainee who had attempted to pass this Aptitude test.

* * *

 **Roughly two or so hours later, in the mess hall near the fields**

Absentmindedly biting into his bread, Mika watched and listened in as Nac spoke with Annie about the next day. He spoke of how they didn't have anything to do tomorrow and essentially had a 'free day' tomorrow. Despite this, Nac planned on going to the fields to see if his fellow Trainees would be able to pass this aptitude test, and Mina was planning on doing the same.

Having passed the tests already as well, both Annie and Mika did plan on sleeping the next day off, but Nac and Mina insisted they be there to offer support to their fellow Trainees. Annie reluctantly agreed to it when Nac said that he'd give her half of his bread tomorrow while Mika only did so because he knew that he'd never hear the end of it if he had declined.

While his two friends chatted away, with Mina beside Annie, chomping away on a stale piece of bread, Mika noted that a familiar black haired boy seemed rather… shell shocked to say the least. For whatever reason, he had a bandage wrapped around his forehead and his eyes were so wide that they looked ready to pop out of his head and roll off to parts unknown at any given second.

"What's with him?" questioned Mika, eyes glued on Eren as the other three on his table turned to either face or eyeball him. In response, Annie gave a soft snort while Nac offered a rather sympathetic expression.

"You didn't hear?" replied Mina, speaking up for Nac as Augus turned to face her. "Yesterday he said that he'd slaughter _all_ Titans, but he wasn't able to keep himself upright during the Aptitude Test."

"Rather poetic," muttered Annie, sarcasm apparent as she smirked. " _He who says he can jump through a canyon cannot even leap over a small crevasse_."

Only Nac seemed to get what Annie was saying while Mika and Mina were left rather confused, though thankfully the taller boy spoke up before their confusion got the best of them.

"He's got at least one more day to prove that he's good enough to be a potential soldier," said Nac, sounding rather sad for Jaeger. "If he doesn't manage it, then he'll be sent back to the Reclaimed Lands. While it would probably for his own good… he did show a lot of spirit and determination yesterday… it'd be a shame for it to go to waste."

Mika did not know what his tall friend meant, but Mina, having heard Eren pledging to annihilate all Titans the day before, gave a small nod. Annie couldn't care less, however. Though by the time Mina and Nac had told Augus about what Eren had pledged the day before, dinner was essentially over, and they all stood to head back to the Trainee Barracks.

* * *

 **Boy barracks**

"Please, Nac… you managed it… you have to at least have some tips for me!"

Wincing a tad at the rather direct question and how Eren was holding him by the shoulders, Nac could only look to Mika for assistance in driving the boy away, but Mika was enjoying watching him be interrogated by Jaeger and Armin too much to do so. Grimacing at Mika, Nac scratched the back of his neck and replied.

"Look, erm… Eren…" said Nac apologetic and awkwardly. He attempted a smile, though it came about rather half hearted looking. "I don't really know much about how I can really explain this… erm… firstly… just… stay calm?"

Listening intently to Nac, Eren seemed to take everything to heart, such as staying calm, breathing slow, and, as Nac had said: "If you feel like you're leaning back, shift your balance forward, and vice verse if you're leaning forward."

"Roger! Thanks a lot, Nac!" proclaimed Eren rather childishly with a smirk as he fistpumped, repeating everything which Nac just told him. And within seconds, he and Armin left to ask some other person about Maneuver Gear tips. When they were gone, Tias turned to give Mika a rather harsh glare, prompting him to give a snort.

"You know, you could've given me a hand back there, Mika," complained Nac, lowering his brows in annoyance. Mika replied with a shrug as he laid down on the bed, ignoring Nac's complaints. "You were enjoying that, weren't you?"

Mika gave yet another rather shrug, prompting Nac to grumble as he laid back down beside his friend.

* * *

 **The next day**

True to his word, Nac and Mina had dragged Mika and Annie to the fields to provide moral support to their fellow Trainees. Despite this, the latter two did not really care about providing any support, instead standing far from the crowd (who seemed to be focusing on Eren for some reason) and staying secluded in a small corner.

Not many words were exchanged between Annie and Mika during this time, simply staring at the crowd, who, in turn, were staring at Eren. Silence was dominant between the two, at least until a familiar brunette tapped Augus' shoulder.

"Ah, scuse' me?" came her voice, making Mika turn to stare at none other than Sasha, who seemed somewhat nervous. Looking over her shoulder, Mika saw that Christa and Ymir were looking at Sasha, Annie and himself. Ymir was pretending to not care while Christa looked encouraging at her friend.

"Hm?" grumbled Mika, staring at Sasha, having to look up slightly to look Blouse in the eye. The boy knew what she was about to say, but he decided to humor her for a bit.

"I just, y'know, wanted to thank ya," said Sasha, smiling as she closed her eyes and held her hands behind her back. "Fer, y'know, helpin' me yesterday!"

"Ah," said Mika flatly as he nodded, turning back to face the crowd as Annie raised an eyebrow at Sasha's sudden accent change, though she raised them when she realized that Blouse was from _Dauper Village_. Mika himself didn't really notice, and besides, after a clear of her throat, her voice went back to normal.

"So, erm… nice weather we're having, hm?" asked Sasha sheepishly as she stood beside Augus, sandwiching him between Annie and herself. Augus didn't really mind, though he could tell that Sasha wasn't exactly comfortable with their current situation.

"Your definition of 'nice weather' is skewed," grumbled Annie coldly as she shot Sasha a glare which froze her a tad, though she chuckled awkwardly, making Leonhardt narrow her eyes. "Spill it, Potato Girl, what do you want?"

"Eh?! What do you mean?!" exclaimed Sasha, eyes wide as she flung her arms around wildly. Mika found the gesture amusing while Annie snorted.

"You're here for a reason," replied Annie, her brows lowering in annoyance, and Sasha chuckled softly, clearly getting a little nervous as she scratched the back of her head. "Spill."

"Ah… what do I do to repay you, Mikazuki Augus?" asked Sasha awkwardly and sheepishly. Mika raised a brow to show his confusion, so Sasha rephrased herself. "Y'know, you helped me back then, I mean, Ymir probably would've helped me… I think," she paused for a second when she heard the woman in question snort defiantly. "But since you helped me, I guess it means I owe you a favor?"

"A favor," muttered Mika, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. Annie, despite her usual uncaring nature, couldn't help but wonder what he was gonna reply. She had a few 'inappropriate' thoughts running through her mind, but she decided to wait for a proper response. And the response didn't really surprise her, as she knew Augus pretty well by now. "Half of your Lunch Potato."

"W-WHAT?!" exclaimed Sasha, stepping back in immense shock, eyes wide and all four limbs shaking. "YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS!"

"Don't make me ask for the entire potato," warned Augus, and at that point, Sasha, after looking back to see that neither Christa nor Ymir, the latter seeming to enjoy this too much to even act bored anymore, were gonna be helping her, dropped down to her knees and whined immensely.

"F-Fine…" she muttered, defeated as Augus snorted. Despite his usually solemn self, Annie could tell that he was doing his best to keep a smirk from appearing on his face. Suddenly, however, Sasha shot her head up, a glimmer of hope in her eyes. "B-But… can I have a larger half…?!"

"...sure," muttered Augus. Sasha gave a victorious whoop as she headed off, leaving Mika and Annie rather confused. Though before long, the blue eyed boy gave a snort, one which caught Annie's attention.

"Something on your mind, Mika?" she asked as they heard Eren yell out in victory.

"Not really. It's just that… I have a feeling that these next few years aren't gonna be dull…"

And in regards to that, Leonhardt could agree with him fully.

* * *

 **I'm back.**

 **Badabing, badaboom.**

 **Before I say anything, I will say that the previous chapter has been edited at least a little. A few additional details and a few corrections were added, so yeah.**

 **So we're at the end of the year, the third of December (for me). Its 2am in the morning as I wrap this chapter up. This probably isn't too good for my health, but hey. If I were really worried about my health, I wouldn't have written anything.**

 **In regards to this chapter, it's essentially glorified filler. I did my absolute best to insert Mika into the Trainee Corps. Hopefully it works. If it doesn't, then feck, you can shoot me.**

 **And as we move on with every chapter, we get closer and closer to the** _ **Trost**_ **arc. Expect it to come up in, at most, 3 more chapters. The next chapter will be meticulous Training shenanigans and us visiting** _ **Tekkadan**_ **for at least half the chapter. It's gonna be a joy to write, I say, convincing absolutely no one.**

 **Now, onto the replies. Actual replies. I'm just happy I finally have some uwu**

 **Guest: well I'll take the blame for shoving that latter half into C9. And yes, Barby is still in the barn. Currently, Mika has no real use for it. That, and increasing friendships with the three is stopping him from visiting. Poor ol' suit.**

 **Jollyreader23: ah shucks, thanks. The plan is mainly to focus on the characters though. The Gundam Vs Titans stuff is kinda the side stuff at this point, and the character interactions are the main course.**

 **Well that's all. Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you guys next time, Umu.**

* * *

Sitting quietly near their table, Mikazuki silently bit into his smaller steamed potato without much of a care in the world. Confused, Nac inquired about where he got it, only to get a small smirk from Annie, a practically unnoticeable one at that.

"He's got his ways…"


	11. Grief and Graduation

**A bit of context: this chapter takes place after a 4 year time skip.**

* * *

' _Documents… so many Goddamn documents…'_

Those were the thoughts which ran through Orga Itsuka's head as he flipped through the many, _many_ legal documents which were filed to him just recently. Among said documents were random missions from clients which wished to pay them to do their dirty work or, more commonly, documents regarding the amount of damages they caused in combat. Of course, there were payments for their more recent missions, but the former two tended to overshadow the latter.

As he looked through the documents, his 'assistant', or perhaps 'overseer from _Teiwaz_ ' was a more accurate term, looked over his shoulder and gave a gentle smile. She was none other than _Merribit Stapleton_ , an accountant of _Teiwaz_ , IE an accountant for the cooperation which technically owned _Tekkadan_.

 _Tekkadan_ … formerly a child soldier brigade that operated on Mars not much longer than four years ago. Now, however, it was a legitimate business, one which worked with _Teiwaz_ of the Jupiter Sphere and even, rather ironically, alongside _Gjallarhorn_ at times. It was shocking to even Orga at times. He still remembered the time he was presented with his fancy, jet black business suit, and when he had first threw his usual _Tekkadan_ jacket and sleeveless shirt off to the side and donned it. It made him look professional, and he didn't like that, so he always kept the tie loose.

As for Merribit herself, she was a beautiful woman, to say the least. With a massive mop of blonde hair and light blue eyes alongside her youthful face, she could most definitely catch the attention of almost any man (which she did on many occasions) just through looks alone. However, right now, she wasn't concerned about issues in regards to men. Instead, she was giving her 'boss' a rather worried look in spite of her gentle smile.

"Perhaps you should take a break, Orga?" she suggested gently, making the lilac haired boss of _Tekkadan_ turn to face her. He flashed her a smile in return before setting the documents he had down and pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. Once he slouched back on his chair, Itsuka simply stared up at the ceiling. "You may be the boss, but even you need to rest every once in a while. Perhaps let me take over the documents for once."

"That won't be necessary, Merribit-San," assured Orga, releasing the bridge of his nose as he shot back up. Gritting his teeth as he signed another document regarding ammunition for the _Gusion Rebake Full City_ , the _Tekkadan_ boss went back to his usual routine, only for Merribit to pipe up once more.

"You're thinking about him, aren't you?" she asked, making Orga turn to give his assistant a glare, and she flinched a tad when she saw how intense it was. Though after some time, his gaze softened and he began rubbing his temples, giving out a low groan as he did.

"Is it that obvious…?" he asked, trying to sound sarcastic but failing miserably. Merribit simply gave a sad nod while Orga flashed a sad smile. It was true… he missed his little friend. While he was indeed a Charisma Vacuum, Augus did have his charms. The way he spoke, the way he glared at hostile people, and the way he looked up to him as an older brother of sorts, Orga missed all of those traits and more. Losing Mikazuki Augus had hit him hard, and, while he certainly wasn't hit the hardest, for the first few months of his loss, Itsuka couldn't help but fall into a pit of depression. If not for the combined efforts of Merribit, Takaki and Ride, among several others, who did their best to counsel him, Orga had a feeling that he'd had offed himself a long time ago.

"Perhaps… but…" muttered Merribit, only for a small knock to be heard on the door to Orga's office. Itsuka gave access to whoever knocked, and he raised his brows when a familiar, pink haired girl poked her head in. "Oh! Atra-San!"

"Orga, Merribit," greeted Atra as she entered, two packs of food held in her hands. Aside from growing about a head taller and with a new outfit, Atra remained relatively the same. Upon seeing the two packs of food in her hands, Orga heard a loud growl. At first, he thought he was hearing things, but a soft chuckle from both girls made him realize that his tummy was rumbling. "Looks like you're hungry, boss."

"Eh… maybe…" muttered Orga with a smile. Atra quickly gave him and Merribit their food packs before heading off. While she headed off, however, Orga couldn't help but frown deeply, catching Merribit's eye as she turned to him. She asked what was on his mind this time, and Orga simply sighed.

"I loved Mika, Merribit. As a brother. But Atra… she loved him in a different way…"

* * *

 **Mobile Suit Hanger**

" _And I can only imagine the amount of pain she's going through whenever she even thinks about him…"_

"A little higher! Alright… alright… WAIT TOO HIGH!"

Those were the first few words which Atra heard as she entered the _Mobile Suit_ hanger of the _Tekkadan_ base. And when she was inside, the strong stench of oil and metallic gunpowder assaulted her nostrils, prompting her to give an adorable sneeze, catching the attention of almost everyone in the place.

"Ah, Atra!" greeted the one whom Atra first heard when she entered. She looked as she remembered him, with his brown hair, friendly face and pink/magenta _Mobile Suit_.

"Shino-San," responded Atra as she approached him, food pack in hand. Shino immediately took it when she was close, opened it up and dramatically sniffed the contents. It was enough to make Atra give a chuckle. "Don't do that, Shino-San!"

"But it smells waaaaay too nice!" complained Shino as he marched over to his personalized _Mobile Suit_ , with Atra following by his side. His _Mobile Suit_ was different, _very_ different, from the one which he had used during the Edmonton battle so long ago, however. The most obvious thing was that it was no longer an **EB-06** _Graze Frame_. Instead, it was an **STH-16** _IO Frame Shiden_ , a new model produced by _Teiwaz_. What separates this unit from the other _Shidens_ , however, were the colours. Like its predecessor, the _Ryusei Go II_ , the aptly named _Ryusei Go III_ was coloured in a hot magenta with goofy looking 'eyes' painted on either sides of its visor alongside a commander's fin. It really did a lot to separate his personalized unit from the standard _Shidens_ , though even Atra had to admit that the colours were a bit gaudy.

Moving away from Shino, who had set his food pack down to yell out for the visor of his _Shiden_ to be lowered down a little more, Atra went along to her next target, who was standing before his own _Mobile Suit_ , the only _Gundam Frame_ which _Tekkadan_ owned following the Edmonton battle.

"The _Gusion Rebake Full City's_ Ahab Reactor should be operating at maximum efficiency now," informed a rather tubby man. His skin was dark, signifying that he was of a different race to a majority of _Tekkadan_ , and both his legs were mechanical from the shin down. He also had a beard which really did make him look rather badass, and his role as a mechanic was evident by his outfit. "The damaged armour bits are also repaired. Try to not get it too banged up on your next mission, understood?"

"Ah, but no promises, Old Man," responded the person Old Man _Yuki_ was speaking to, and he could only sigh in mild frustration as Akihiro Atland gave a chuckle. Though within a second, he gave a smile and a gentle punch to Atland's chest.

"But you'd better try your best, kiddo," said Yuki as he looked up at the _Gundam Frame_. "You're our Ace in the hole… and the _Gundam_ is also an important social mark for us."

"I hear you, Old Man," muttered Akihiro with a smile, only for both of them to turn when they heard Atra approaching. Upon seeing the considerably small (in comparison to himself) girl, Akihiro gave a small smile and waved at her, a gesture which she had mirrored in response. "Atra!"

"Akihiro-San," responded Atra with a kind wave as she ran up to Old Man Yuki and Akihiro. Swiftly, she handed both of them their respective food packs. Yuki gave her his thanks as he walked off to enjoy his meal in a cleaner environment while Akihiro simply set his pack to the side, prompting Atra to tilt her head. "You're not hungry yet, Akihiro-San?"

"Not too hungry at the moment," muttered Akihiro, crossing his arms as he gave a sigh. "Tests for the _Gusion Rebake Full City_ are scheduled to take place within the hour. I just don't want to miss them."

"Ah…" muttered Atra, staring up at Akihiro's own personalised _Mobile Suit_ rather wistfully.

The unit was definitely a lot different than it was all those months ago during the Edmonton battle. For one, it's outer armour seemed to be completely reformatted, being much blockier and looking as though it could take an _Anti-mobile Suit_ missile head on. Atra was no expert on MS design, and she herself almost never partook in any of the _Mobile Suit_ weapon briefings, but she knew that the _Full City_ had obtained a new weapon, some sorta shield scissor, which had quickly come to be the defining feature of the unit.

Looking at _Gusion_ stand stoically in the hanger of the _Tekkadan_ base gave Atra a sense of nostalgia which grew larger the more she stared at it. Noticing this, Akihiro snapped his fingers before her face.

"Atra… you there?" came Akihiro's voice out of seemingly nowhere, making Atra squeak and turn up to face her large friend. With a soft chuckle, she nodded and straightened herself out.

"Y-Yeah… sorry for that. I… just blanked out for a moment there," apologised Atra with a goofy smile. Akihiro gave a smile and gave an understanding nod. He knew what she was thinking, but he didn't have the heart to ask about it. So instead, he kept quiet and let the whole thing slide.

"It's alright," assured Akihiro with a nod. "Don't forget to eat something too, you got that?"

"Ah, thanks, Akihiro-San!" thanked Atra with a smile, prompting Atland to chuckle softly.

"Anytime, Atra," replied Akihiro with a nod as she walked off to continue her food delivery, though as she walked, the girl felt her smile fade before she moved onto her other comrades.

* * *

 **Tekkadan HQ mess hall**

"Atra…?"

No response.

"Atra-San…?"

Still nothing, prompting the man to snap his fingers in front of her face, snapping her out of her minor trance and turn to face him, a tubby _Tekkadan_ junior member who did seem legitimately worried for her. In response, the pink haired girl smiled her brightest and nodded.

"Ah, don't worry about me, _Dane_ ," said Atra rather dismissively as she waved her hands in the air. "I was just thinking about stuff…"

"But you do seem worried," muttered Dane, hands by his side as he spoke to the girl who was just about at his waist level. "We're all part of _Tekkadan_ , so it's alright to speak up about things you're worried about."

Smiling at the considerate the newer member of _Tekkadan_ was to her, Atra did consider telling him about her current dilemma, only for a senior _Tekkadan_ member to walk up to the large guy and speak up.

"Dane, don't bother the young lady," came the voice of a founding member of the organisation, and both he and Atra turned to see the familiar ginger haired face of _Eugene Seven Stark_ , standing with a hand on his hip and with a neutral expression on his face.

"Ah… Eugene-San…" muttered Dane awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"It's alright, kid," clarified Eugene as he motioned for Dane to exit the mess hall, and the overly large man complied, though he had to be creative when it came to squeezing through the door. When he was gone, Eugene locked eyes with Atra, whose expression fell once more as she went back to packing food items. Unlike Dane, however, he did know what was bothering the girl. "You're still thinking about him?"

"...ah," muttered Atra uncertainty as she rubbed her cheek, turning back to Eugene as his expression softened dramatically. "I just… can't help it…"

"Well, neither can most of us," agreed Eugene, his shoulders slouching a little as he spoke. "The kid really did help us a ton… it doesn't feel right to not have him savor all this."

Atra's simple response was a nod, not noting a junior soldier listening in before he walked off alongside Dane and another junior soldier.

"Who're they speaking about, anyhow?" questioned the junior _Tekkadan_ member, a simple blonde bloke with the standard issue jacket. Beside him, Dane rubbed his chin before answering.

"They're talking about someone potentially important to _Tekkadan's_ history…" he deduced. And within seconds, he got his answer. "The only potential candidate is… _Gundam Barbatos_ , and its pilot, Mikazuki Augus…"

"Mikazuki Augus?" quipt the third person in the group, a brown haired teen with an interesting haircut. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully before answering: "Never heard of em."

"Mikazuki Augus is the first pilot of _Tekkadan_ ," explained Dane. "He fought in the Edmonton battle four years prior, and went up against some of _Teiwaz's_ ace pilots at one point."

"Doesn't sound like much," muttered the blonde, clearly not interested in this 'Mikazuki' boy. The pilot didn't sound impressive to him, and he didn't really find any reason to respect him at all. From what _he_ has seen, Akihiro and the _Gusion Rebake Full City_ were much more capable.

"You say that, but Mikazuki Augus is the reason for us being here," said Dane, brows lowered a tad as they entered the _Mobile Suit_ hanger to assist in the _Full City's_ testing. "Perhaps you should respect his name a little at the very least…"

* * *

" _Mika-San?"_

 _Blinking as he shook his head, Mikazuki Augus paused for a moment to allow his eyes to focus on the beautiful face before him. And within seconds, he had his gaze focused itself on a pink haired girl, one that seemed rather worried for his sake._

" _Atra…" greeted Mikazuki as he sat up, having apparently been leaning against a wall, perhaps asleep, for an unspecified amount of time. He rubbed his eyes a tad before staring up at the pink haired girl, feeling almost as though he was staring at his personal guardian angel. "Where…"_

" _Well, you're in the_ Mobile Suit _hanger," answered Atra before Mika could even finish. The pink haired girl gave a chuckle at Mikazuki's somewhat perplexed expression before continuing. "Is something wrong, Mika-San?"_

" _No… it's just… something…" muttered Mika, still rather drowsy as he began closing his eyes and leaning back against the wall he was apparently up against. Atra herself seemed to notice his general sleepiness, though apparently unwilling to leave him, the girl sat up next to him. And there she sat, silent as Mikazuki slowly drifted off back to sleep, and in an unexpected turn of events, his head found itself resting against her shoulder. Atra's body stiffened at that, only to smile and rest her head on Mikazuki's._

" _Sleep tight, Mikazuki…" muttered Atra, allowing herself to grasp the pilot's hand gently and simply hold it as he slept…_

* * *

"Atra-San…"

Wincing a tad as he stopped his hand, just a few centimetres away from making contact with Mikazuki's shoulder, Nac raised an eyebrow as he stared at his friend in mild confusion. Currently, it was roughly four in the morning, and Nac was getting ready to wake his friend up, only to stop when he heard him mutter several unfamiliar words and names.

It wasn't common to say the least. Mikazuki almost never spoke in his sleep. He hardly even moved in his sleep, so this was a new thing for him. It was enough to make him pause as he heard his friend mutter several more incoherate words and names, though he caught the term _Gundam_ , whatever it was. He didn't wake him for a moment, still caught off guard by Mikazuki having a potential nightmare, only to eventually shake his friend to wake him up.

"Hng…" muttered Mika as he began stirring, turning his slowly waking body towards Nac as he opened his eyes. Nac and Mika locked eyes for a moment, and silence prevailed before them both… and suddenly… "...Shino?"

"Eh?" muttered Nac, confused as Mika regained his marbles and shook his head to clear up the sleepiness spell, pinching the bridge of his nose to help with that. "Uh… Nac…"

"Mika…" greeted Nac awkwardly, only to smile as he helped Augus sit up. "You were having your first dream in several years."

"Dream…" muttered Augus, only for his expression to turn into a small grimace as he turned away from his friend and swung his legs over the edge of his bed, his back and AV spines facing the taller boy as he took in several deep breaths. Nac did intend to perhaps ask his comrade about his 'dream', only for Augus to speak up, completely ignoring the issue regarding his 'dream'. "Let's get moving."

"Yeah… let's," muttered Nac silently, deciding not to think too much about that.

* * *

 **Southern Trainee Corp Lecture Hall**

"And the most common tactic to take down a Titan is to double up and strike from both angles."

Listening mildly as he sat down on the table he shared with Mina, Annie, Nac, Mylius, Franz, Hanna and a guy called _Thomas Wagner_ , Augus kept his focus on the board, where a random _Garrison_ member was lecturing them in regards to Titan combat. Unlike Nac, Mina and several others, Mika himself wasn't too keen on listening.

Don't get him wrong, he knew that it was important for him to know all this information, but the way most _Garrison_ lecturers provided the information to them was very… dull. Hell he looked almost as bored as the kids he was talking too. Thankfully, whenever he wasn't listening, Nac would often be there after every lecture to catch him up on everything he didn't hear.

A gentle nudge to his ribs snapped the boy back into reality, making him turn to stare at Mina, who was giving him a scolding expression, one which was replied with a quirk of his brow before he turned to face the man who was lecturing them. From there on, Mika did try his best to listen in on the lecture, only to find his drifting off to other thoughts once more, or specifically that one dream he had earlier.

' _Atra…'_ thought the boy rather dreamily as he rested his head on his palm. Despite the several additional nudges Mina had given him, the boy couldn't tear his attention away from his thoughts, not this time.

He hasn't realized how much he missed the girl up till the dream he had mere hours ago. The boy did think about them often during the past four years of training, but he usually didn't have much time to really miss them. If anything, he found himself almost forgetting about his old friends as his new acquaintances and friends took over his life. Now, however, thanks to that unexpected dream, everything in the boy's mind was directed right at both _Tekkadan_ and the girl.

The thing that snapped him out of it was Mina shaking the boy, making him blink and turn to her in a mildly irritated way. Mina, on the other hand, pointed out that they were meant to head off to a nearby field for a CQC session. Looking past the girl, Augus noted that Annie and Nac were already standing, and, not wanting to hold them up any longer, the boy nodded and stood up himself.

* * *

 **Southern Training Grounds**

Standing with his shoulders squared, arms raised up to shield his face and legs spread to solidify his stance, Mikazuki Augus kept his gaze firmly locked on Mylius Zeramuski, who, in comparison to him, had his shoulders slackened, fists at chest level and his legs slackened in a way which made him easy to put onto his back.

For a moment, Mika and Mylius simply stared each other down, ignoring the hundreds of other Trainees which surrounded them, also sparring with one another in their mandatory CQC training programs. If anything, Mylius himself was probably unable to hear them. The boy was a little too tense for his own good, breathing heavily and sweating hard as he inched closer and closer to Augus, who in comparison remained impossibly calm as he approached him.

One couldn't blame Mylius for his uncertainty to strike Mika, however. The pilot had a track record of putting some of the best fighters of the 104th Trainee Brigade onto their backs, including even Mikasa Ackerman and Annie Leonhardt. His skills were often compared to Levi Ackerman himself, though at the moment Mylius didn't really care. All he did care about was focusing on Mikazuki, watching his every move as he closed prepared himself for an attack.

And once he was, Mylius sent his right fist flying forward, aimed directly at Mikazuki's head. The shorter boy narrowed his eyes as he dodged to the side, though before Mylius could follow up his failed strike, Mikazuki seized his wrist and pulled him in close. When the boy was close enough, Augus struck Mylius square in the stomach with his knee. The impact caused him to cough up some phlegm, and when the pilot released the boy's wrist, he doubled over in pain.

Staring down at Mylius as he wiped some spit off his lips, Mika could only snort as he turned away from Zeramuski and looked around the training site, where several hundred other Trainees (more or less) were sparring with one another. Mina currently had Nac in a headlock, laughing enthusiastically as she gave him a noogie, while Sasha and Connie were working on some… special attacks? Mika didn't know what they were really doing, honestly. Just that they looked amusing as they did it.

For Mika, CQC training was rather pointless to him. He knew why they needed to learn this, as not all Trainees would be going up against Titans, but it was still rather unnecessary to him, a child soldier who had already trained for nearly half (or more) of his childhood. He had a feeling that Annie shared his mindset.

"H-How do you even manage this, Mika-San…?" asked Mylius, still on one knee as he was struggling to get up. Turning to face him, Augus moved forward to help Zeramuski get up onto his feet, the blonde staggering mildly as he steadied himself.

"What do you mean?" questioned Mika, not understanding what Mylius was asking. The blonde, still with a hand on his stomach, cleared his throat before rephrasing himself.

"You're combat style is pretty impressive…" muttered Mylius in an envious tone. "I mean, your fighting style is much more… advanced than the rest of us."

Snorting at that, Mika shrugged and turned away from Zeramuski when he heard a large person get slammed on their back. Mylius himself also turned towards it, just in time to spot Reiner, of all people, with his legs up in the sky, with Annie not too far away from him. Mylius sweatdropped immensely at that sight while Mika snorted, both of them putting together the pieces they got from the scene.

"R-Reiner-San…?" muttered Mylius as Annie moved away from the blonde. The one in question did not hear him, simply doing his best to stand as Augus turned away. "Annie… put him on his back _that_ simply…?"

"That's Annie for you," quipt Mika, turning back to Mylius as he crossed his arms. Perhaps offhandedly, Mylius, after scratching his cheek, asked the boy a question.

"Mika-San… do you think you can take Annie on?"

And Augus had to resist the urge to roll his eyes at that. Despite looking as though they were on equal footing in terms of physical prowess, what with both of them being immensely muscular and stoic in appearance, Mika himself was much stronger than his fellow blue eyed friend. The two of them did spar in private on several occasions, and nine out of ten times Mika came out the victor.

Annie was no pushover, far from it. Augus had a feeling that she did have a childhood which involved physical and at least some basic CQC training, as she did have a handful of impressive moves. But Mika himself was trained in more than one form of combat style. Of course, he wasn't a judo master. The boy's combat style was mostly blunt and focused primarily on putting down an opponent as soon as possible, something which was similar to Annie's combat style. The difference was that Mika had seen Annie's moves multiple times, used primarily by Shino, up to the point where he knew how to counter Leonhardt's leg sweep rather effectively.

Despite their disparity in strength, and Mika having beaten Annie several times, however, the boy would often lie in regards to if he could beat her. It was more out of a sense of respect to his friend, just to keep her pride intact, he supposed.

"No…" lied Augus as both of them turned to see Annie putting Eren Jaeger onto his back. She had him pinned on the ground, a wooden dagger pressed against his heart. "She's… out of my league."

* * *

 **Maneuver gear Training Site**

Zipping through the southern Maneuver Gear Training site, the 104th Trainee Corps avoided the trunks of several trees as they locked onto their targets, several life sized wooden Titan replicas, all of which with fabric napes which were made to be targeted.

The forested region of the southern Trainee Site was definitely the perfect site for a Maneuver Gear Training site. With trees standing close to twenty metres in height and the forest covering ten kilometres of ground, it was spacious enough for the Trainees to maneuver with their gear and the trees were more than tall enough to ensure that they have plenty of things to latch onto and swing off on.

Close to ground level were several senior _Garrison_ and Keith Shadis himself, who was overseeing his Trainees as they partook in one of their last Maneuver Gear training sessions. In truth, the overseer and former _Survey Corp_ commander himself was pleasantly surprised at how much his Trainees had advanced in the past few years, going from clueless juniors to actual forces to be reckoned with in a rather short amount of time. Then again… there were a few who weren't exactly perfect.

Right as that thought entered his mind, a trio of Trainees came straight past his current location, making the overseer turn and examine them closely.

The Trainees had their eyes set on a single, fifteen metre Titan replica, and the first two struck its fabric nape with their Anti-Titan blades. Their strikes tore open twin slashes, causing some of the stuffing to burst out. With a satisfied smirk, Keith wrote down a positive assessment for the two Trainees, only for that smirk to fade when he saw the third slash on the fabric nape. Roughly half as deep as the other two slashes, Keith recognised that a Titan could _very_ easily survive that wound. He would have to reprimand the boy who dared give such a lackluster slash…

And perhaps on cue, the three Trainees Keith was monitoring came into view. He only caught a brief glimpse of the trio, but the upside of him instructing them for four years was that he could recognise them in almost an instant. And in mere seconds, the instructor identified them: Bertholdt Hoover, Annie Leonhardt and Jean Kirstein _._

 _Bertholdt Hoover. He's got immense potential, but his self esteem holds him back from being a great soldier._

 _Annie Leonhardt. Her combat and Maneuver Gear performance is truly impressive, but her cooperative work requires more refining._

 _Jean Kirstein. His Maneuver Gear skills are top class, but his naturally hotheaded attitude causes discord among his comrades._

Up with the three, Bertholdt and Annie moved onwards to scout out their next target. Jean, on the other hand, grimaced as he split off from the trio.

"Tsk… I'm no match for their slashing abilities…" groaned Jean, only for a newfound glint of determination to appear in his eye as he narrowed them. "If so, then I'll simply have to find my targets before they do!"

With his new resolve, Jean began boosting through the forest, evading trees and keeping himself above ground until he found his target, a ten metre replica. With a smirk on his face, the boy sprung out at it.

"Bingo!" exclaimed Jean, approaching the 'Titan' with both arms raised, only for a familiar bald boy to bolt past him, a massive, goofy smirk on his face as he caught Kirstein off guard. "Eh?!"

"Thanks, Jean!" exclaimed Connie, bolting past Jean as he closed in on the Titan, ignoring the baffled expression on his face as he readied his blades. However, just as he had done to Jean, the boy widened his eyes when a shockingly fast blur beat him to the punch. "W-WHAT?!"

"I got it!" exclaimed Sasha Braus, giving herself a mini-celebration as she allowed herself to free fall backwards, all while _both_ Connie and Jean watched in shock. Over in the distance, Keith, despite not seeing the events which transpired, was able to hear the trio's commotion and piece together the events which probably transpired.

 _Connie Springer. His Maneuver Gear abilities are impressive, and his capabilities in regards to sharp turns is nearly unmatched. Despite this, his dim-witted self makes him hard to work with._

 _Sasha Braus. Her instincts are inhumanly strong, and her Maneuver Gear skills are on point. Her weak point, however, is that her character is unsuited for team based situation._

Turning away from the direction which he heard the three, Keith refocused on three newcomers, narrowing his eyes as they swung towards a recently erected Titan replica. The three of them delivered decently deep slashes, though not enough to bring down a Titan, making Keith shake his head in disappointment as he watched Nac Tias, Mylius Zeramuski and Mina Carolina move on to seek out their other targets.

 _Mina Carolina. She's average all across the board, not excelling at anything in particular. Her slashing is below average, but her Maneuver Gear abilities and knowledge is above most others._

 _Nac Tias. He excels when it comes to lectures, but his physical attributes and Maneuver Gear abilities are mediocre at best. Despite this, his friendly nature has earned the trust of many._

 _Mylius Zeramuski. He's below average for a majority of his physical attributes and not much better for his mental ones. His timid nature also tends to hinder his abilities, but his tactical mind is invaluable._

While the trio sped off, Keith turned down to his notepad to write down several notes, only to pause when he heard a fellow _Garrison_ overseer inform him of an incoming trio of Trainees as he and a fellow overseer raised a Titan replica upright.

The first of the three to arrive zipped past and delivered an immensely deep cut in the fabric nape, so much so that even Keith flinched at her strength as he wrote down a positive note down. While he was noting it down, however, the man did not notice the second Trainee zip by and slice into the fabric, though his slash was about half the length of the formers.

"Damn it… I didn't manage to cut in as deep as Mikasa!" cursed Eren as he moved up beside his 'sister', grimacing as Mikasa frowned, thinking she did something wrong to anger her 'brother'.

 _Mikasa Ackerman. Strong, smart and excellent in regards to her Maneuver Gear abilities, she is a prime example of a prime soldier in the Military Brigades._

 _Eren Jaeger. He doesn't possess any particular talent, but he's improved his marks through pure effort and his extraordinarily strong sense of purpose._

"Eren… did I-" began Mikasa in a worried tone. Eren, in response, turned to give her a mild glare, making her wince.

"Not now, Mikasa! We-"

Similarly to how he had cut her off, Eren Jaeger himself was cut off when he heard the third Trainee coming straight at them. Turning towards the inbound newcomer, Mikasa widened her eyes and pushed Eren back, just in time to avoid a head on collision with Mikazuki Augus.

Ignoring the collision he nearly had with the two, and ignoring Eren's complaints, Mikazuki Augus locked onto the nape of the Titan replica. And, unintentional or not, the pilot swung both his Anti-Titan blades straight at the fabric nape. The blades had not only dug straight through the fabric, they had also cleaved straight through the entire neck of the replica, decapitating the entire thing as everyone, even Keith himself, looked on with dumbfounded shock.

Stepping back as the head of the decapitated Titan replica hit the ground, the _Garrison_ overseers watched with wide eyes as Mikazuki boosted off without so much as a second glance back at his work. He simply swapped his apparently dulled blades out for a new pair before seeking out his next target, leaving Keith to absentmindedly write down something for Mikazuki on his notepad.

 _Mikazuki Augus. He's not to good academically, but he's definitely a force to be reckoned with on the field, delivering slashes which put even some of the best in the 104th Trainee Brigade to shame._

* * *

 **Hours later**

Scratching his head with a mild yawn, Mikazuki Augus rubbed his eye as he bit down on a small chunk of bread, ignoring a majority of the commotion within the Trainee Corp cafeteria. Beside him, Nac was talking nonstop, speaking of his experience in regards with their upcoming graduation ceremony which would take place in about five days.

Annie herself seemed just as enthusiastic as Mika was, with her head resting on her palm as her other hand held onto her spoon. Currently, Annie seemed to be drifting off to sleep, her head threatening to fall into her bowl of stew at any second. As for Mina, however, she was speaking with Nac, not letting her current fatigue stop her enthusiasm.

"What're the odds of Mika or Annie getting into the top ten?" asked Nac as Mika tore a small chunk off his bread and biting into it.

"Pretty high, honestly. They're both absurdly tough…" admitted Mina with a thumbs up. Not long after, she turned to Annie and asked for her opinion, inadvertently saving her from getting her face slamming down into her bowl of stew. Nac did likewise with Mika, nudging him gently, prompting the boy to turn to him.

"So, Zuki, any thoughts on becoming a top ten?" asked Nac with a smirk, and Augus, ignoring the odd new nickname the taller boy came up for him as he shrugged. "If you manage it, you could always join the _Military Police Brigade_."

"I go wherever you and Mina go," said Mika, looking up at Nac, who seemed surprised at that. Augus simply bit into his bread before speaking. "Someone needs to keep you two in line."

"Man, you sound like Annie right now, Mika," quipt Nac, smirking as he jerked a thumb at Leonhardt, who didn't seem to hear him. Mika simply shrugged as he popped the final bit of bread into his mouth.

"Perhaps, but-"

"Don't screw with me, you bastard!"

Blinking as he, alongside his entire table and the entire cafeteria, turned towards the source of the yell, Mikazuki raised an eyebrow when he saw Eren and Jean on their feet, with the latter holding the former by the collar of his shirt, yelling at him for some reason unknown to at least him.

"Let go! You'll tear my shirt!" Eren yelled back, seemingly caring more about that shirt of his than Jean possibly punching him with his fist. Despite not turning to confirm this, Augus could tell that Annie was watching this in interest.

"I don't give two shits about your clothes! I'm _so fucking_ jealous!" exclaimed Jean, making both Annie and Mina share a look which showed their confusion.

"Jealous?" they repeated silently, looking at each other while Mika dug into his pocket to get a raisin. He managed to get an extra and turned to Nac with an idea.

As the two looked back at the two, they noticed that Eren was not moving much and Jean had an amusingly goofy expression. Meanwhile, Mikazuki passed a raisin Nac, who graciously accepted. Rather unfortunately for him, however, Eren grabbed Jean's arm, placed his other hand on his neck, and effectively swept Jean off his feet, a gesture which caused the boy to choke on his raisin.

In response to his choking, Mina and even both Mika and Annie appeared concerned but Nac waved him away. "Did he just…"

"He did," confirmed Annie, effectively cutting Nac off as she stared at Jaeger in mild shock. She wasn't the only one, however, as practically everyone in the cafeteria wasn't expecting Eren Jaeger to pull off Leonhart's signature move, so Mika supposed the choking Nac went through was justified

"Ouch…" mumbled Jean as he sat up. "What the hell was that?!"

"A hand-to-hand combat technique I went through hell to learn while you slacked off," replied Eren. "You think kicking back and doing whatever you want is reality? If that's so, then do you think that you can even consider yourself a soldier?"

That was when heavy footsteps were heard, and the door to their cafeteria opened up slightly to reveal Keith looking in, apparently not noticing that Eren was standing up and that Jean was on his back. "I heard a loud noise a moment ago… anyone care to explain?"

The silence was deafening as everyone sat there with no proper reply. They simply sat down in silence as Keith entered the room, frowning as he awaited an answer. For a moment, however, an idea ran through Mikazuki's head, and it would seem that Annie herself also caught wind of it, as almost in perfect unison, both Mikazuki and Annie raised their hands. Keith looked at them, and they nodded to one another before replying.

"It was the sound of Sasha farting," they said, perfectly in sync, causing the girl in question to widen her eyes and mouth in immense fear. Keith, on the other hand, only made a face of immense disgust as several trainees tried their hardest to hold in laughter. Mina very nearly lost it, but she somehow managed to hold it in.

"So it was you again…" said Keith as he tried to hold his breath, apparently believing both blue eyed kids. Sasha looked as if she'd seen the end of the world until Keith left the room, though not before some parting words. "Learn some modesty."

And when he was gone, Sasha immediately went over to the two and asked why they did it as Jean and Eren sat on a table, glaring at one another as Mikasa and Armin watched on. Nac himself chuckled as he gave a small smile. "I never thought I'd see the day where Mika would make a joke, intentional or not."

"A pretty good one at that," agreed Mina, prompting Mika to roll his eyes. He would have pointed out that it wasn't a joke, more of a way to get rid of Keith. But unfortunately, Sasha kept pestering him and Annie, demanding to know why they would do such a thing.

Mikazuki sighed after five minutes of Sasha asking and stuffed a raisin into her mouth. Sasha would have complained, but she widened her eyes while she nom nom nom-ed into the raisin, apparently enjoying it.

"You're… forgiven…" muttered Sasha, satisfied as she marched back to her table, leaving Mikazuki to stare at her with very little interest.

"She's really something, ain't she?" quipt Nac, sarcasm apparent as he chuckled.

"Yeah…"

* * *

 **Five days later**

And so… 208 Trainees of the 104th Trainee Brigade made it to graduation.

On the night, the 208 Trainees gathered at the fields of their Training site, with Keith Shadis up front to inform them of their placements. Despite his expression being its normally grumpy one, there was an undeniable glint in his eyes which told his former Trainees that he was proud of them in one way or another. He was willing to agree to disagree with Sasha.

"You have all done well, each and _every_ one of you!" exclaimed Keith, though it was obvious that not everyone was deserving of this praise. "To move up to one of the three Military Brigades! Those who have done exceptionally well may join the _Military Brigade Police_ , but for those who have not, you may simply join either the _Garrison_ or the _Survey Corps_! Pick wisely!

"Now, I shall name ten of the best soldiers in this brigade! When your name has been uttered, step fourth!"

"Number ten, Sasha Braus!"

With wide eyes and nearly slobbering, the southerner in question stepped forth. She may have been the last, but her being in the top ten was enough to make her feel queasy.

"Number nine, Connie Springer!"

Doing his best to suppress his smirk, Springer stepped forth and saluted, though he needed a lot of willpower to stop himself from losing his cool when Keith glared at him with a look which told him that he himself also couldn't believe that he managed to get up to the top ten either.

"Number eight, Marco Bolt!"

Widening his eyes as he jogged up, Marco saluted and kept his expression firm, even if his lips quivered a tad in excitement.

"Number seven, Jean Kirstein!"

The smirk which Jean had at that moment was practically unrivaled, and the Horse-face did his best to look professional as he walked up front and gave a salute.

"Number six, Eren Jaeger!"

Unlike most others, Eren stepped forth with an impassive expression. He had no interest in becoming among the top ten. If anything, he felt like he robbed it from someone else, considering how he had his mind set on becoming a _Survey Corp_.

"Number five, Annie Leonhardt!"

Annie herself moved up front, her expression unreadable as she saluted.

"Number four, Bertholdt Hoover!"

With a mildly shocked expression, Bertholdt approached the front and saluted, looking almost scared that he was able to get up to the top ten.

"Number three, Reiner Braun!"

Reiner himself smirked and confidently strided up to the front, moving up beside Bertholdt and giving him a small smirk. Bertholdt noticed it and gave his comrade a returning smile, though they went back to being neutral when Keith shot them an expression which told them to save the celebrating for later.

"Number two, Mikazuki Augustine!"

Lowering his brows in annoyance as his last name was mispronounced once again, Mikazuki marched up to the front and gave a rigid salute, turning his eyeballs up to glance at Reiner, who smirked at him.

"And number one, Mikasa Ackerman!"

Mikasa herself walked up to take her place beside Mikazuki. She spared no one a second glance as she saluted, simply staying still as Keith looked between the ten of them before giving a nod.

"Congratulations to the ten of you," congratulated Keith, nodding as he spoke. "You have went above and beyond to prove yourselves worthy for a position in the _Military Police Brigade_.

"Be proud of yourselves, if only for a moment, and perhaps only for today, celebrate your victory to your heart's content. But do not forget, you shall all be transferred to your chosen military branches by next week, so savor this moment! Am I understood?!"

"Yes sir!"

* * *

Absentmindedly leaning against a wall which was not too far from the entrance to the cafeteria, Mikazuki simply bit into a raisin as he tugged his _Tekkadan_ jacket, the thing doing its best to keep him warm.

Most of the other former Trainees were in the cafeteria, celebrating their graduation with the enthusiasm of a rowdy bar and the subtlety of a typhoon. Hell, even from where he stood, approximately twenty metres away from the cafeteria, Mika still found the noise to be rather earsplitting.

Augus wasn't the only person outside, however. Several other former Trainees also stood outside, not wanting to be inside where all the noise was at. Nac, Mina and Annie were all inside, celebrating with the others while Mika stayed out of it. He insisted on it, frankly, as the noise was rather irritating to the boy. That, and he still wished to have some silence to think of some… stuff.

' _If only you could see me now, Orga…'_ thought the boy, shoving his hands into his pockets as he smiled ever so slight. Frankly, now that he had enough time to think about it, the boy could more clearly think about how much he's changed in the past five years.

Of course, the boy had grown in size. Perhaps half a head taller than usual, the boy had definitely grown a little taller than he used to be. If anything, this seemed to annoy Annie, who was irritated that she was still the shortest of the four, roughly an inch shorter than Augus. If one were to add on Mikazuki's ahoge to his height, however, he'd be half a head over Annie.

The boy's intelligence has also grown… somewhat. Nac took it upon himself to teach him how to write and read more efficiently before and during their time in the Trainee Corps. It worked… kind of.

However, his social life has improved drastically… in a sort of way. Mikazuki wasn't much more social than he usually was back before he met Mina, but he has shown some improvement. Aside from his three friends, and both Reiner and Bertholdt he supposed, Mika has found some camaraderie with Ymir, Christa, Franz and perhaps Mylius if he was stretching it. It was mostly encouraged by Nac, for him to be social. The boy didn't exactly like the idea, though he did admit that the four, previously aforementioned Trainees were capable of providing good conversations on days where he was isolated from his three friends.

If anything, however, Mikazuki found himself finding Nac, Mina and Annie to be very much a 'second _Tekkadan_ ' more than anything. They acted as his second family, something which made him feel rather guilty for perhaps forgetting about his old friends. But he had to move on from his past, and this was the only way he could do so.

And right as he gave a small sigh, doing his best to push the rather depressing thoughts out of his mind before he could be consumed by them, Mika looked up and saw the door to the cafeteria burst open, and for Mina and Nac to burst out, smiling as the former waved at him. Taking the hint, Augus pushed himself off the wall he was leaning on and approached them.

"Mika, Mylius has several questions for you!" informed Mina as she tugged on his jacket sleeve.

"Yeah, and Christa wishes to congratulate you too, man!" added Nac, smirking as he wrapped an arm around Mikazuki's shoulders.

In response to both Tias and Carolina, Mikazuki himself gave a nod, only to give a smile as he allowed himself to be pulled into the noise cafeteria. As he entered, he ignored all the jealous and/or admirable looks he got from everyone and simply marched towards where Annie stood. The two shared a glance before nodding, and Mika himself stood there, silently and occasionally answering several questions.

Though frankly, his attention was fixed primarily on the three of his closest friends in this place, smiling mildly as he thanked his luck for meeting Mina on that fateful day.

"You there, Mika?" quipt Nac, poking Mikazuki's forehead, prompting him to stare at the taller boy with a raised brow. The taller teen, however, chuckled at that. "You kinda froze for a moment."

"Ah… I guess I was just… thinking about stuff…"

* * *

 **So yeah, here we are on C11.**

 **This chapter is also kind of a filler. The next chapter WILL be the start of the** _ **Trost**_ **arc, so stay tuned for that.**

 **Anyhow, I've been in college for three damned months. As a Mechanical Engineer, it's pretty tiring honestly. But it's still fun to say the least.**

 **Of course that does mean that I will be updating very slowly from here on, but I'll still do my best to update as frequently as possible. I will also note that I have edited the previous few chapters, namely Chapters 6 to 10. Ironed out some inconsistencies and errors and added some new things. So yeah, there's that.**

 **Alright this is kinda all I have to say on my glorious return after a 4 month absence from writing this story. Anticlimactic, yes? Perhaps so, but that's what I'm best at. Now onto replies.**

 **If I had any.**

 **Yeah, no reviews apparently. So yeah see you guys next time.**


	12. Collapse of Trost

" _Mikazuki?"_

 _Blinking as he tore his gaze away from the window of the Isaribi, Mikazuki raised an eyebrow as he turned to come face to face with none other than Atra Mixta, who had an expression which showed her worry for him. In spite of his usually stoic self, Mikazuki allowed his normally hard gaze to soften before he turned to regard her._

" _Atra… what are you doing here…?" muttered Mika as the shorter girl walked up to stand beside him, hands by her side and head craning up to look him in the eye. "You… couldn't sleep either?"_

" _I… guess you could say that…" muttered Atra, something which made Mika nod. And silence prevailed from then, with Mika occasionally popping a raisin into his mouth while Atra stood in silence. And finally, right as Mika was about to leave, Atra spoke her mind. "Mikazuki… you… are you feeling alright…?"_

" _I…" muttered Augus, not sure of why she would ask that but answering regardless. "I feel… normal."_

 _As he said that, Mikazuki had brought a hand to stare at it. To him, he seemed alright. Nothing on him felt hurt, at least nothing he could see or feel. But Atra, being more observant of such things than he was, could notice several indications of his discomfort, key of which being how the hand Mika brought up to stare at was shaking mildly._

" _Mikazuki…" muttered Atra, lifting her arms up and gently wrapping her fingers around the taller boy's larger hand, an act which made him quirk an eyebrow up. "If that's true… then why are you shaking…"_

 _Widening his eyes ever so slightly as he pulled his hand back, with Atra releasing her grip on it to allow him to do so, the boy stared blankly at his own hand. He seemed to only just notice the subtle shakiness in his hand, and to a certain extent, the smaller discomforts he was feeling internally._

" _...you're right," muttered Mika in response to Atra's observation as he clenched his fist. "I… wonder why. Something… is strange today. I just feel… off."_

 _And, without even a second thought, Atra stepped forth. The motion caught Mikazuki's attention, but he wasn't able to react before Atra, after tiptoeing, leaned up and gave him a surprisingly strong hug. Her arms were wrapped around his neck in a manner which wasn't so strong that it hampered his breathing, but it was still strong enough to make him exhale sharply. Despite standing on her tiptoes, however, the top of Atra's head only came up to Mikazuki's cheek._

 _For a short while, Atra remained this way, simply hugging the one she cared the most about in an attempt to comfort him. She didn't know what issues he was facing, exactly, but she'd be damned if she let him face them alone. Mikazuki, on the other hand, stood there, confused as a new form of emotion coursed through him. The boy still kept his stoic expression, but he felt his heart rate speed up tenfold by the sudden act._

 _After ten seconds, however, Atra seemed to realize what she was doing and widened her eyes before breaking the gentle hug. Jolting back and now staring at Augus with a face so red that it made her look like she'd eaten an entire can of hot sauce, the shorter girl tapped her index fingers together as she fumbled together an explanation. "I-I… I just recently saw Fumitan-San do this to the other kids… they seemed to calm down. I… I'm sorry if the hug didn't work though… I…"_

 _The girl had to pause for a moment before she went on, her beet red face now turning even darker._

" _I don't have a chest size that's big enough to comfort you…" she continued, and that was when she realized how stupid she was sounding and blurted out an, "I… I'm s-sorry, Mikazuki!"_

 _While she blurted out line after line, however, Mikazuki found himself inadvertently staring at her with his own variant of a shocked expression. She was such an adorable child, and he knew it. The boy didn't know how he felt towards her, not yet at least, but he did wish to repay her for the act of kindness she had just showed towards him. The boy was about to say a simple 'thank you', but he knew that wasn't enough. Closing his mouth, he thought of another way to thank the girl, and once he did, he smiled._

 _A smile which Atra remembered to be almost_ _ **playful**_ _looking, especially for Mikazuki._

 _Distracted by that smile, Atra did not react when Mikazuki trailed one of his hands up along her cheek, pushing aside some of her hair as he rubbed the side of her face in a shockingly gentle manner, especially for him. And, without and warning, the boy leaned down and gave Atra the honor of being the first person he's ever kissed._

 _That was his thanks to Atra, and it was something neither of them would forget about anytime soon._

* * *

"Atra…"

"No Mika, it's me, Nac!"

Upon hearing that, Mikazuki shot open his eyes and found himself face to face with none other than Nac himself, who was kneeling down in front of him with a smirk on his face. While his presence usually made Augus at least brighten up on several occasions, the shorter boy felt like socking Tias in the cheek for interrupting his pleasant memories. Still, he kept that emotion in check as the taller boy helped him up onto his feet, and by then, the pilot began remembering where he was.

He still remembered the 'graduation party' they all had the night before. Despite him wanting to not attend, Nac and Mina kept insisting on it, and he was inevitably forced to comply alongside Annie, who seemed to be as 'thrilled' to be there as he was. The party wasn't exactly tiring, per say. Perhaps long was the better term to describe it. The party dragged on and on, long enough that Mika only got perhaps four hours of rest by the time they had returned to the dorms.

Having been woken up with minimal rest, the boy was unable to listen to the briefing Keith Shadis had bellowed at them, though he vaguely caught the words 'Cannon Maintenance' being roared at them. Whatever that meant wasn't too important to him at that time. He had also remembered walking through _Trost_ alongside Mina, Nac, Annie and at least ten other Trainees.

By some inconceivable miracle, Mika had found himself separated from the main group. He would have tried to locate them, but his lack of rest was taking its toll on him, and the last thing he remembered before that pleasant trip down memory lane was him sitting down with his back against a wall and drifting off into dreamland…

"Hey Mika?" piped up Nac out of nowhere, prompting the shorter boy to snap out of his trance and turn up to stare at him. Nac was, as usual, smiling as he stared at him, though Mika noticed that he had a hand in his Trainee Corp jacket, trying to pull something out of it. When he seemed to finally find what he was looking for, the boy widened his smile and pulled out a slip of paper which appeared to be a letter of sorts. The thing was folded in half. "Here, this one's for you."

Augus took the piece of paper and stared at it, puzzled. "...what is it?"

"Ah… well," muttered Nac as he rubbed the back of his neck. "You see, we had a break not too long ago, and during that break, Mina, Annie and I decided to go looking for you. And during that time… we… may or may not have went over to visit Ms Carolina… Annie kinda separated from us after that visit. She said that she needed to work on something with Bertholdt. As for me… I went off to find you while Mina returned to her duties.

"Of course, we did spend time with her, and when she realized that you were gone, she wrote this letter for you," explained Nac with a smile. "Read it whenever you want!"

Shrugging a little, Mika stuffed the paper into his jacket, intending to read it later, before turning up to face Nac. "Let's… go and join Mina."

"Yeah," muttered Nac, realizing how Mika seemed to sound… well… a little more energetic than usual. "Let's do that! She's probably getting kinda lonely by now!"

And with that, both Mika and Nac continued their walk, though Mika couldn't help but feel some form of childish glee light up his heart as they walked.

* * *

"There you guys are!"

Smiling immensely when she saw Mikazuki and Nac make their way towards the cannon she was maintaining, Mina stopped what she was doing and gave her friends a wave. Nac was the only one to wave back, with Mika staying neutrally silent as they approached, both of them with their Maneuver Gear equipt.

Currently, both Mikazuki and Nac were atop the northern side of _Trost's_ wall. From what Nac told him prior to getting here, they were meant to clean and maintain the cannons atop the Walls of _Trost_. It was their first assignment as proper soldiers of the Military Brigades, and it was simple enough as a first assignment, at least to Mika.

Mina herself was not the only person who was over by the southern side of _Trost_. Others, namely Connie, Eren, _Samuel_ , Hanna and Franz were present here as well, working on their separate cannons as they chatted idly to one another, every one of them also wearing their Maneuver Gear. Mina herself was working alongside Hanna, and both she and her friend paused to regard Mika and Nac came into view.

"Waddup," greeted Nac, coming to a stop in front of Mina. Mika followed suit, crossing his arms as he stared at Mina. "As you can see, I found Mika… he was kinda asleep and all that."

"I never took you for a sleepyhead, Mika!" complained Mina, lifting a finger to prod Augus on the cheek. The action didn't get much more than a neutral, confused stare from the pilot, causing Mina to chuckle awkwardly before she went on. "But still, why'd you decide to sleep at… wherever you were?"

"I was tired, and that spot looked good enough to rest at," said Augus flatly, prompting the girl to nod.

"Right right," muttered Mina, clearly not buying the lie but not keen on pushing the topic as she waved Augus off to get back to maintaining the cannon. Nac chuckled at that before moving off with the pilot, leaving Hanna and Mina behind to speak with each other idly as they worked on theirs.

"Mikazuki really is somethin, eh?" said Hanna sarcastically. "Being able to sleep in so many strange areas regardless of comfort."

"That's one of the many things which make him enduring!" said Mina cheerfully as she scraped some grime off the side of the cannon the two were working on. As she did, Mina herself began thinking about the boy in question, feeling her mind absently drifting off into the distance as she slowly averted her gaze towards him. The boy didn't seem as keen on cleaning the cannon as Nac was telling him to be. Instead, he seemed more interested in tossing a pebble down at a Ten Metre Titan that was at the bottom of the exterior Wall.

"Mika, couldja give me a hand here?" grumbled Nac, his voice calm, though hints of irritation were apparent. In response, Augus nodded, though not before kicking a decently sized pebble down. The pebble went straight into the mouth of the Titan down below, though it seemed oblivious to that fact as it clawed at the Wall, trying to get to its prey.

Chuckling ever so slightly at that, Mina herself began thinking back to their earlier days as Trainees. If anything, Mika was much like Annie, just less drastic. He never always showed up to training sessions, but whenever he did, the boy gave it his all, a trait which Annie could stand to learn. Mina herself wished that Leonhardt wouldn't slack off so much, though it didn't really matter now, considering how their Trainee days were over, and how she seemed keen on joining the _Military Police Brigade_.

The _Military Police Brigade_ … thinking about that reminded Mina of a conversation she and her small group of friends had just a day ago. It was in regards to the military branch they were joining, and it was a simple one; which branch they were joining. Annie herself was keen on being a part of the aforementioned _Police Brigade_ , but Mika… he was apprehensive.

" _I go wherever the two of you go,"_ was what Augus said after Mina announced that both she and Nac were joining the _Survey Corps_. _"Someone has to keep the two of you in line, after all."_

" _You sure?"_ she remembered asking Mika. _"You're kinda abandoning a good life in the interior walls just to keep us alive. You do know we're not_ _ **that**_ _weak, right?"_

" _I know. You two are strong. But I'd feel better if I was with the two of you all the way. I don't think I'd be able to forgive myself if either you or Nac get eaten on an expedition."_

She still remembered the expression both she and Nac gave the pilot when he said that so openly. Though he has shown his love, in his own way, for all three of them in the past, Mina felt that this was perhaps the first time Mika has ever shown some form of intense compassion towards either one of them in the past five years. It was enough to make Mina's heart stop for a few moments, and even now, as she stared at the boy prod a crack in the body of the cannon he and Nac were maintaining, the girl couldn't help but feel a little giddy.

"Mina…? Yo, _Karanses_ to Mina! You there?"

Something about Augus just made her feel… happy. Perhaps it was his stoic yet sometimes gentle nature, or the way he spoke to his friends with a tone very different from whenever he was speaking to acquaintances, but something about him made her smile from time to time.

"Seriously, you there?"

The fact that she has seen him half naked doesn't really help. The spinal birth defect he suffered from didn't mitigade the fact that he was fuckin' ripped, and just the memory of a half naked Augus made the girl blush.

"M-Mina! Your face is turning red!"

Despite her typically innocent nature, Mina couldn't help but allow several… _naughty_ thoughts race through her mind. It was enough to make her cup her cheeks as her mind raced…

"MINA CAROLINA! DO YOU HEAR ME?!"

And at that, Mina yelped and straightened herself, oblivious to the fact that she was just fantasizing about her friend as she snapped out of her trance, only to come face to face with none other than Hanna, who was leaning over the cannon and staring at Carolina with a worried expression. And, before she could even ask what she was doing, Hanna shot a hand forward, resting her palm against Mina's forehead.

"Strange, you don't seem feverish," she muttered, confused. "Care to explain why your face is so red, Mina?"

"It's what?!" exclaimed Mina, hopelessly embarrassed as she cupped her cheeks in her hands, not noting the lingering glances from the other Cadets. "D-Don't worry about it, Han'! Just… overheating…?"

"If that's the case, you oughta get some water before you pass out!" proclaimed Hanna, and from out of nowhere, she grabbed a bottle of water and handed it to Mina. Deciding to play along, she snatched it away from her old _Karanses_ friend and chugged it all down without a second thought, much to her friend's amusement. "Gee, you really were thirsty, hmm?"

"You… could say that," muttered Mina sheepishly as she emptied the bottle, wiping her lips as she placed it down. "Thanks for that, Han'."

"Yeah yeah, you're welcome and all that," responded Hanna, smirking. The two _Karanses_ girls stood there silently for a moment, just enjoying the wind blowing against them as they looked out into the distance, out at the land the _Survey Corps_ intended on reclaiming someday…

And suddenly…

"S-Sasha?! W-Where did you even GET that?!"

Blinking as both Hanna and Mina turned to investigate the unexpected sound of Nac raising his voice in terror, they both raised their eyebrows in confusion, as did everyone else within earshot when they heart Nac's voice. As for Tias and Augus, however, they were staring at Sasha with a horribly shocked expression. Even Mika's usually stoic expression was replaced with a surprised one, complete with an arched eyebrow.

"From the Senior's locker!" was Sasha's response to Nac as she pulled something from her jacket. And what everyone saw made their jaws drop in both hunger and terror.

Meat.

Oh dear _Tekkadan_ , it was _**meat**_ , only the scarcest and perhaps the most delicious thing which could be found in the outer confines of the Walls. Despite doing her best to remember, Mina couldn't recall the last time she ate it. In fact, she doubt she's even _tasted_ meat before in her lifetime, prompting her to drool ever so slightly. The others, on the other hand, seemed apprehensive.

"S-Sasha, are you mad?!" exclaimed Connie. "When the seniors find out, you're as good as toast!"

"He's right," added Franz, walking up beside Connie as he crossed his arms. "Meat has become much scarcer ever since the Fall of _Shiganshina_ and _Maria_. If any senior finds out, you could very well be executed… or worse…"

"But we can't let this opportunity slip by!" protested Sasha as she approached the group, smiling like a hungry, _hungry_ Titan as she fantasized about all the things she could do with the slab of meat she had in her hands. And apparently, she was feeling generous on that day, as she added something unexpected to her words. "We can divide it among ourselves as celebration! We did just graduate after all! We can slice it up and bread it… spread some butter on it and eat it with mushrooms…"

As she said that last line, Sasha gave out a low moan which made even Mika a little uncomfortable. After said moan, Sasha knelt down and opened a box which seemed to appear out of nowhere and gingerly placed the slab of meat inside.

"There's no need to worry about it," assured Sasha as she closed the lid of the box. "Once we've recapture _Shiganshina_ or _Maria_ , we'll be able to raise more cattle and cows for meat. And by then… _ooooh_ , by then…"

It would appear that Sasha's gluttony was getting to the other former Trainees, as Connie's formerly indifferent expression began breaking down, leading to him demanding for a bit of the meat. Mina herself, eager to try it out for herself, was next to ask, with Franz, Hanna, Samuel and Eren coming in not long after. Sasha seemed to be fine with sharing, though Nac was the polar opposite.

"S-Stop and think, you guys!" protested Nac, catching everyone's attention. Out of the eight of them, he seemed to be the most serious, frowning as he crossed his arms. "If any one of the seniors even catch us _holding_ that slab of meat, we'd have a very high chance of being courtmarshaled! Hell, just thinking about the consequences makes me queasy! You should try and learn some self control, like Mi-"

"Sasha," piped up Mika, making everyone turn to him as he had effectively cut Nac's rambling short as everyone turned to stare at the shortest person in the group. "Leave some for me."

And at that point, Nac nearly fainted. His point was proven moot after Augus asked for some of the meat, and all he could do was kneel down in defeat as Sasha held a thumbs up. Noticing his friend's sadness, Mika added another request.

"And some for Nac," added Augus, prompting the taller boy to stand back up and point a finger at the pilot.

"ARE YOU CRAZY?! I HAVE NO INTENTION OF BEING COURTMARSHALED!" proclaimed Tias, causing a chuckle to erupt from Mina.

"The future isn't fixed, Nac," pointed out Mina, echoing what Mika had told her nearly four years ago. "Besides, you should take whatever good stuff life throws at you, like now! Just say yes and enjoy the moment! Who knows if you'll ever get this chance in the future?"

"But… I…!" began Nac, fumbling for a retort. He proved unable to do so, however, and finally, he slouched over in defeat. For a moment, no one spoke as Nac stayed on his knees, silent.

And finally, he stared up at Sasha.

"...could we at least have a small slice for Ms Carolina and Annie as well…?" he pleaded, and everyone, minus Mika, chuckled at that.

"Of course!" proclaimed Sasha, sounding just a bit uncertain but not heartless enough to deny that request. "This is practically a once in a lifetime opportunity, so we may as well make the most of it!"

"Ah… now could we please get back to work before someone notices something is up… please?" pleaded Nac. Everyone seemed fine with that, and they moved back to working on maintaining the cannons, though Nac himself still seemed antsy.

"I swear, Sasha's gluttony is going to be the end of us all…" muttered Nac, apparently still not liking the idea of having meat without the permission from his seniors. Augus, on the other hand, felt indifferent to the entire thing. Though, honestly, he did miss the taste of meat, so the prospect of potentially having some excited him to a certain degree.

"It's probably a once in a lifetime opportunity," pointed out Augus. "Just enjoy it."

"Yeah yeah, whatever…" muttered Nac in defeat as he tapped the side of the cannon. "Though frankly, I hope that what Sasha said will come true. Being able to reclaim _Maria_ or _Shiganshina_ sounds so… impossible. But with enough conviction, even the impossible can become possible."

"Look at you being optimistic," quipt Augus flatly as he tossed a rag onto the ground. Nac chuckled at that.

"Yeah, some optimism is needed for this line of work after all," pointed out Nac with a smile. "It gives you hope even in the bleakest situations, motivates you to go onward or perhaps even inspire others in bleak situations."

"Perhaps…" muttered Augus, allowing Nac's optimism to be contagious. If it were about five years prior, Mika would've considered having some optimism in regards to the issue of him getting back to his home, his _real_ home. But now, that optimism was reserved for another thing, to keep his comrades alive.

And following that brief exchange, neither Mika nor Nac spoke up again, seemingly content with just staring out at the outer half of _Trost_. This being his first time atop a Wall, Mika found the sight to be… beautiful, in a way. Minus all the Titans anyways.

While he made no oath to do so, Mika himself felt that it was his own personal mission to help retake the outer Walls of _Shiganshina_ and _Maria_. If it would make his friends happy, then so be it. That, and it would probably make his own life easier. Sure, he was unable to use _Barbatos_ , but he had a feeling that he had enough Maneuver Gear skills to hold his own while in combat against Titans.

"Oi, Nac…?" muttered Augus, turning to face his friend. The taller boy, leaning against the cannon they were maintaining, turned to face him.

"Aye?"

"What are the odds of us being able to manage it?"

"I generally don't wanna think about the odds, but honestly, I'm sure we'll be fine as _Scouts_. Just don't think about all the negative stuff and focus on surviving, perhaps?"

"Fair enough…"

And with that said, Nac went back to scrubbing the grime off the cannon they were working on, leaving Augus to simply stare out at the outside, where Titans roamed without a care in the world. There was an odd calmness to their current situation, with none of the other Cadets speaking loud enough to disturb him, and staring out into the outside had an oddly calming effect despite all the massive humanoid things roaming around.

The calmness allowed Augus to clear his mind for once, for him to close his eyes and just… relax.

And almost as though the universe itself wished for him to never be able to relax, a massive sound, accompanied by a horrifically bright flash of light, struck the area right in front of the northern end of Wall _Trost_. In response to that, Mika shot his eyes open, and he widened them immensely when he found himself face to face with a massive, flesh coloured head. Without any skin and its flesh visible, the thing fitted the description of the ' _Colossal Titan_ ' rather well.

For a moment, no one present at the northern side of the Wall uttered a single word. They simply stared in shock and horror at the sudden appearance of the _Colossal Titan_. And, by the time someone spoke up, the Wall below them shook with the force of a tidal wave, knocking them off balance just enough to let a powerful burst of steam, most likely coming from the _Colossal Titan_ itself, knock every last one of them backwards and send them flying off the side of the Wall.

"Tsk!" proclaimed Augus, allowing himself to panic for a split second before he remembered that he still had his Maneuver Gear equipped. Wasting no time, Augus and his fellow Cadets regained their marbles and shot both anchors of their gear onto the side of the Wall, roughly forty metres above ground level, effectively saving themselves from receiving a nasty end via a fifty metre fall. The others followed suit, all except for one. Samuel, apparently having been knocked out by the force of the steam, was still falling, and those who noticed that he was still falling turned to him in horror.

"Samuel!" exclaimed Mina, and right at that moment, Sasha did something rather unthinkable. Detaching one of her anchors, the _Dauper_ resident began racing down the side of the Wall, the other anchor keeping her from falling straight off the Wall as she did so. Once she was sure that she was close enough to Samuel, she shot her second wire straight at him, and, by some ungodly miracle, the anchor was able to snag onto the boy, piercing his foot and holding onto him like some prized catch.

"Don't worry, Samuel! I've gotcha!" proclaimed Sasha, ignoring the shocked looks she was getting as she turned back up to stare at her fellow Cadets. "Is everyone alright?!"

"Yeah, we're fine!" assured Nac with a thumbs up. "But… did that just happen?!"

"I have no idea! But… that face we saw before getting blown off… if you ask me, there's no doubt about it!" replied Connie, turning up to stare at the top of _Trost_. "The _Colossal Titan_ has returned!"

While the Cadets calmed themselves, Mika and Franz both turned downwards, locking their gaze at the massive cloud of dust which shielded the gate of _Trost_ from sight. It was a bad sign to say the least, and it made the former give a mild grimace while the latter widened his eyes in immense panic.

" _Trost_ has been breached!" shouted Franz, catching everyone's attention as they widened their eyes to match his.

"Why NOW, of all fucking times?!" swore Connie clenching his fists so tightly that his veins began showing. His comment was largely ignored, however, as Eren ordered the small team of seven, including the unconscious Samuel who was still hanging from the wire Sasha shot into his foot like some sorta puppet, to move on to engage the _Colossal Titan_.

"Did seriously he just give that order?!" exclaimed Mina, shocked as she watched Eren swing himself up to the top of the Wall. Down below, Sasha was carefully reeling Samuel in, and when he was close enough, she wrapped her arms around his waist and looked up to face Mina.

"It would seem so!" she exclaimed. "I don't know about cha', but Samuel ere' ain't lookin' too hot! Ah'll gettem to HQ fer medical attention!"

"That would be for the best!" agreed Nac, ignoring Sasha's native accent slipping in as he grimaced and widen his eyes when he saw the first Titan, a Ten Metre, stumble its way into _Trost_. The taller boy grumbled when he remembered it as the Titan Mika was tossing rocks at not too long ago. "We've got company!"

"A Titan's already in here?!" exclaimed Connie, prompting everyone to freeze up. "We oughta get out of here! We're not suited to going up against these things!"

"Bullshit!" shot Hanna, unsheathing both her blades as she turned to stare at the Ten Metre Titan, its eyes lazily looking around, trying to find its first meal. All around it, random civilians were panicking, all running away from the monstrosity in terror as it scanned the crowd lazily. "I don't give a damn what you guys say, I'm taking that thing down one way or another!"

"If you're going, then I'm with you!" proclaimed Franz, his blades unsheathed as well. Hanna shot him a sweet smile before the two of them began boosting towards the intruder before anyone could stop them, much to Nac's dismay. Mika, on the other hand, turned to Nac with an expression which showed some mild form of confliction.

"... Nac, go inform our seniors about this," he instructed, unsheathing both of his blades as he spoke. Everyone turned to face him at that, and Mina was the first to realize what he was planning.

"Wait, Mika! You can't-" she began, only for Augus to cut her off.

"I can," he retorted, cutting her off effectively. "Hanna and Franz can't hold their own for long. If you want to help me, get the more experienced soldiers onto the field before more Titans can get in."

"I… guess you're right…" muttered Mina, seeing the logic in what Augus just said as she nodded and turned to Nac. The taller boy seemed apprehensive, but he too nodded.

"Fine, let's move, double time!" he proclaimed, and with that, the remaining Cadets began retreating, leaving Mikazuki, Hanna, Franz and Eren behind. For a brief moment, Augus turned up to stare at the top of the Wall. From where he was hanging from, he could vaguely hear the sounds of cannonfire, making him believe that Jaeger was using the Wall mounted cannons against the _Colossal Titan_. A smart move, all things considered. But now was not the time to think about that. Turning back down to eye the Ten Metre Titan, the pilot saw that Franz and Hanna were already engaging it in combat.

Narrowing his eyes ever so slightly, the boy dislodged himself from the side of the Wall and began falling. When he was roughly twenty metres away from the ground, the boy fired his Maneuver Gear anchors at the closest building and at the side of the Wall and, using his built up momentum, slingshot himself straight at the Ten Metre Titan.

* * *

"Damn you!"

Those were the words which were uttered by Franz as he took a slash at the arm of the Ten Metre Titan, giving it a large gash but not enough to stop the limb from moving. Not too far from him, Hanna was maneuvering around, doing her best to strike the nape of the Titan, though it's movements were too jerky for her to line up a shot clearly.

While the duo combated the Titan, they noted that the civilians were using this opportunity to flee the area. The two did not mind at all. This was what they were trained for, after all. Soldiers were meant to protect civilians, after all. If they perished, then so be it.

"Take this!" proclaimed Hanna out of quite literally nowhere, zipping in at an impressive speed. Her target was the left arm of the Titan, having apparently gotten fed up with her failed attempts at striking the nape. Franz did his best to distract the Titan long enough for her to get the strike in, but unfortunately for both of them, the girl's yell caught its attention, and before she could connect her blades with its left arm, the Titan lashed out at her with its right arm, snatching her out of the air and holding her at eye level. "Gah!"

"HANNA!" proclaimed Franz, not wasting a second to boost towards the person closest to him. However, before he could even begin to swing towards the Titan, a figure blasted straight past him. The Cadet just barely made out a sliver of black hair before the newcomer swung straight towards the right arm of the Titan, seemingly aiming for its wrist. And, with a swing which would rival even the top _Survey Corps_ , the newcomer severed the entire right hand of the Titan, releasing Hanna, who began falling. Thankfully for her, however, Franz was able to get in and snatch her out of the air before she hit the ground, with the two landing on the top of a building not long after.

"T-Thanks for that, Franz…" thanked Hanna, her face a horribly dark shade of red when she realized that the boy in question was holding her in a bridal fashion, something which was impressive, considering the current situation the two of them were in at the moment. Franz, on the other hand, blinked as he turned to regard the one who just saved his crush.

"Yeah… but that wasn't me…" he admitted, and at that, Hanna herself turned and widened her eyes when she saw none other than Mikazuki Augus, circling around the Titan as he tried to spot a weak point to exploit. "It was him…"

Over with Augus, the boy kept his distance from the Titan, eyes narrowed as he watched its movement. The boy kept moving, using his Maneuver Gear to slingshot himself forward in a truly erratic fashion, dodging most of the swipes the Titan sent at him, perhaps waiting for the right moment to strike. After that initial hit from Mikazuki, the Titan kept its gaze firmly locked onto the pilot, ignoring Hanna and Franz as it focused entirely on Mika.

Those large, glassy, soulless eyes manage to send a chill down Mika's spine, much like how it did so long ago, but he ignored that feeling as he slingshot himself high up into the air. While he was doing so, the pilot noted that the Titan was still staring at him. That, and it looked as though it were ready to leap into the air and attempt to grab him.

Acting on instinct, as soon as the boy began slowing down, he maneuvered his waist properly into position and narrowed his eyes. He had only one shot at this, and if he failed he could very well become this thing's lunch. When he was sure that he had his target lined up, he took a deep breath… and fired his Maneuver Gear anchors.

Bullseye.

Both his Maneuver Gear anchors burst out of their canisters and buried themselves deep in both eyes of the Ten Metre Titan, causing a fountain of blood to gush out of them as the Titan, now unable to its target properly, leapt blindly into the air. When it landed, the Titan landed on its front. That simple action pulled Mikazuki down towards it, but the pilot used that momentum to swing himself straight at the Titan, dislodging both his anchors from the Titan's eyes as he did.

One of his two anchors ripped the eyeball of the Titan out of its socket, but Mikazuki himself didn't really care as he had his target in sight: the nape. Not wasting any time, he fired both anchors, both of which latched onto the back of the Titan's neck, and reeled himself in. Clutching his Anti-Titan blades tightly, the boy waited for the right moment.

And with a single, solid slice, he ripped straight into the nape of the Ten Metre. Mikazuki himself landed rather harshly on the ground, having to roll to a stop before he could stand himself up. Once on his feet, however, the pilot turned to regard the slowly dissipating Titan for a moment as he sheathed his Anti-Titan blades.

Mikazuki himself was still covered in the dissolving blood of the Ten Metre, though he seemed oblivious to it as he turned his head upwards to regard Franz and Hanna, the former still holding the latter bridal style. Both of them were staring at him as though he had done the impossible, which may or may not have been too far off the mark, though it didn't stop the pilot from raising an eyebrow. 'Are you two okay?"

"Y-Yeah… we're fine!" assured Hanna with a thumbs up as Franz finally set her down. After giving her beloved a small smile, she opened her mouth to ask a simple question, only to close it when a group of _Garrison_ soldiers came into view.

The first to reach them was a man who wore combat goggles. The soldier seemed panic, as he should be, as he landed down beside Franz and Hanna. The man already had his Anto-Titan blades unsheathed as he barked orders at the three Cadets.

"You three, fallback, now!" he ordered, pointing to the Military HQ at the heart of _Trost_ as he spoke. "You all should've followed protocol, not rush in and try to act like a hero!"

"But sir, that Titan would've-" began Franz.

"It would've been handled by more experienced soldiers!" retorted the senior, cutting the Cadet off. "Now get moving, all three of you!"

"...yes sir…" was all Hanna and Franz could muster up as they turned to Augus, who was simply staring up at them with an indifferent expression. "Come on, Mika, let's move!"

"Ah…" muttered Augus absentmindedly as he stared out at the breached Wall of _Trost_. The entire situation reminded him so much of the Fall of _Shiganshina_ and _Maria_ , with the soldiers being mostly powerless when it came to combating the Titans. From the few rumors he's heard, the only reason the soldiers were able to evacuate as many residents of _Shiganshina_ and _Trost_ as they did all those years back was because of the _Mechanical Titan_ …

Because of himself and _Barbatos_ having joined the fight…

Connecting the dots within his head, the pilot turned up to regard Hanna and Franz. They were still waiting on him to follow them, so much so that they widened their eyes in shock when he shook his head.

"You guys go on ahead," instructed Mika, pointing towards the _Trost_ Military HQ with an index finger. "I'll catch up."

"But-" began Franz, only for Hanna to stop him.

"No, he's got a family here, Franz," she explained to her love, pursing her lips together as she looked down to regard Augus with a firm expression. "Go warn em about the breach! We'll meet you at HQ!"

"Ah," replied Mika with a nod before he slingshot himself towards the eastern front of _Trost_ , with Franz and Hanna making their way to the center. As he swung, however, the boy couldn't help but feel… conflicted with the paths which were now opened for him. Despite that, he pushed those thoughts out of his head and focused on reaching the barn he had used to keep _Barbatos_ away from the general populace for roughly five years.

He'd have a lot of time to think of what was bothering him when he was powering the unit up, after all.

* * *

 **Trost Military HQ**

Breathing heavily as they sprinted through the _Trost_ Military HQ, the soldiers, primarily _Garrison_ and Cadets, did their absolute best to maintain some form of order as they fueled up their Maneuver Gear gas canisters and resupplied their blades.

By the time they had returned, Mina, Nac, and Connie had parted ways with Sasha. The former three met up with their fellow Cadets in the gas replenish station while Sasha brought Samuel to the infirmary to work on his wounded foot, among other things. By the time the _Dauper_ Cadet got to the gas replenish station to meet her fellow comrades, the soldiers were all divided up into smaller groups, each group placed under the command of a single _Garrison_ senior.

Sasha herself was grouped alongside Connie, Ymir and Christa, and she didn't have enough energy to complain as she walked over, though not before giving Mina a slight nod for 'good luck'. Mina herself returned the gesture before she sheathed her final spare blade and stood up. Her team was led by the infamous _Garrison_ commander, Flex Moto Ray, and consisted of Nac, Mylius, Thomas and herself. She was bummed that Annie wasn't around to assist them, but she reckoned that her skills were needed elsewhere.

Flex's group was assigned to Vanguard Duty, something Nac wasn't exactly pleased with. Before he could express his displeasure, however, he had noticed the return of a trio of Cadets, namely Eren, Hanna and Franz… though with a missing fourth person.

Eren was the first to split up from the group, moving off to lead his own Vanguard squad, leaving Hanna and Franz behind to ask for theirs. This gave Nac and Mina enough time to jog up to the two, though Carolina got to the duo before Tias did.

"H-Hanna! Franz!" greeted Mina, keeping her voice as calm as she could as she greeted them. The two lovebirds in question responded with nods and by repeating Mina and Nac's name, though after the pleasantries were exchanged, Carolina immediately seized Hanna by the shoulders and pulled her face close to hers, almost enough for their noses to be touching. "W-Where's… where's Mikazuki…?!"

"I… uh… he…" began Hanna, too shocked by the sudden outburst from Mina to respond properly. Franz, on the other hand, managed to reply, though only after getting Mina to release his girl.

"Mikazuki went off to check on your parents," he explained after Mina's hands were pried off Hanna. "Don't worry, he'll be back in no time! I'm sure of it!"

Staring at Franz with a serious expression, Nac concluded that the _Karanses_ resident was not lying before he nodded and patted his friend on the shoulder. "We'll hold you to that, Franz. Come on, Mina. Let's not hold the others back any longer!"

And before Mina could attempt to pry any more information from either one of the local _Karanses_ lovebirds, Nac had seized her by the wrist and pulled her off to rejoin Mylius and Thomas, who were both nervous about the upcoming events but still trying to remain optimistic. As they walked, however, the taller boy couldn't help but note how his shorter friend seemed more fidgety than usual.

"Don't worry about him, Mina," said Nac assuringly as he patted her shoulder, causing the girl to stare up at him. "Those Titans won't stand a chance against him. Hell, I'd reckon that they should be the ones _running_ from him, y'know?"

"Real funny, Nac…" muttered Mina, showing a small smile as she stared up at him. "But… y'know… you wouldn't get it."

"Oh, it's one of those 'girl things' you and Annie keep talking about, eh?" remarked Nac sarcastically, managing to get a chuckle out of Mina as she gave a small nod.

"Yeah…" confirmed Carolina with a nod just as they got behind Mylius and Thomas. "You could call it that."

And with those words uttered, Mina and Nac joined in with Mylius and Thomas, discussing the upcoming events and, rather morbidly, speaking of who would take down the most Titans out of the four of them, minus Commander Flex. the four were so occupied with their conversation that they failed to notice that close by, very close by, Annie Leonhardt was giving them a look of pure guilt.

Before said guilt could consume her, however, the blonde felt a hand gently rest on her shoulder, prompting her to turn and spot Bertholdt, who was wearing an uncharacteristically stoney expression. That expression told her that their lives weren't worth risking hers for, and despite Leonhardt telling herself that countless times during the past, present and even in the foreseeable future, the girl knew that deep down, she didn't mean it.

Even deeper down, she knew she feared the day they found out about her true nature. However, she suppressed that feeling as she saw Mina, apparently having noticed her, giving an encouraging smile and a thumbs up, a gesture the blonde had returned with a simple nod of her head.

And with that possible final exchange between two friends, Annie herself exited the HQ, being the first of her team to step out into the field. It wasn't because of bravery, far from it.

It was because she feared that if she stayed in there for any longer, her guilt would have consumed her. And she wasn't going to let that happen, not now of all times.

Not when they were so much closer to accomplishing their goal…

* * *

 **Elsewhere**

Whilst the _Garrison_ and Cadets were preparing to launch a counterattack against the Titan invasion, both parties had their attention set on the southernmost side of _Trost_ , specifically at the location where the _Colossal Titan_ had breached the Wall. With a barbed net hanging loosely over the breach and the Wall mounted cannons unloading round after round into the oncoming Titans, the _Garrison_ had their attention fixated on keeping as many Titans out of _Trost_ to allow for as many of the civilians to evacuate.

The Cadets, on the other hand, were preparing to be led to their deaths by their _Garrison_ seniors, something which was technically taught to them. So, simply put, both Military Parties were doing their jobs.

However, no one accounted for, or even noticed for that matter, a singular Cadet making a beeline for the eastern front of _Trost_. His Maneuver Gear allowed him to make it there in record time as he slingshot himself over the houses and subsequently through the dense forests of the east wing of _Trost_. Him soaring overhead, alone no less, did catch the attention of many onlookers, but frankly the pilot did not care. The only time he did was when he noticed a familiar woman staring up at him.

Their eyes did lock for a split, almost nonexistent, second. But despite the limited amount of time, Mikazuki was able to see that the woman who had locked eyes with him had widened her dark greys to an impressive degree, and Augus had to bite his lower lip to stop himself from going down there and speaking to the one he now considered his mother.

No… that wouldn't benefit anyone. If he wanted to help, he needed to get to that barn…

He needed to get to _Barbatos_.

And that only managed to motivate him further as he swung through the dense forests of the eastern wing of _Trost_. He evaded trees and branches for roughly ten minutes, where he finally caught sight of his target.

Not wasting much time, Mikazuki slingshot himself up into the air and entered the massive, dilapidated barn via the massive hole in its roof, landing with a soft thud right in front of what one could assume to be the most powerful weapon which resided within these Walls.

Tilting his head up to stare at his personal _Mobile Suit_ , Mikazuki himself had to admit that it wasn't as worse for wear as he had expected. Its chassis was still intact, and there wasn't too much rust on it. Some of its Nanolaminated Armour was peeled of here and there, revealing some of the silvery grey metal beneath, but aside from that, the _Gundam_ looked just as Mikazuki had left it.

The only real difference was the fact that there was a rather sizable blanket covering the still open cockpit of the _Gundam_. Mika remembered putting it there the day before they had left for the Trainee Site of _Rose_. The pilot did know of some voice command thing which would let the cockpit open, but he had no idea how to work it, so he reckoned that the best way to keep the critters out was to just plop the blanket over the still open cockpit.

It was better than getting permanently sealed out of the thing, anyways.

After a quick look at his unit, Mikazuki immediately fired his Maneuver Gear anchors at it. Both anchors hit the blue chestplate and held firmly as the pilot swung himself up, landing on the center triangle of the chest. He kept his balance as he ripped the blanket off the cockpit, and he did feel a little relieved when he saw that it wasn't as dirty as he had anticipated. Sure, the cockpit chair was a little ragged and a thick layer of dust and grime covered most of the inside, but it wasn't something he couldn't deal with as he removed his Maneuver Gear, both of which were slotted beside the cockpit chair, and leapt inside.

The sense of familiarity came back to him in full as he wiped the dust and grime off the cockpit monitor of the _Gundam_. Turning to examine the entire cockpit, the pilot saw that his 'pilot uniform' was resting over by the side. It looked dirty as all Hell, and even if he intended to, the boy wouldn't have worn it. Instead, he simply removed both his Trainee Corp Jacket and blue undershirt and chucked them both off to a corner of the cockpit. With that done, and after cleaning some dirt off the cockpit's _Alaya Vijnana_ port, the half naked boy plugged himself into the _Gundam_.

For a moment, nothing came through the AV unit, prompting the boy to panic ever so slightly. And suddenly, that panic was replaced with an oh so familiar sense of pain as the _Alaya Vijnana_ system on _Barbatos'_ end began pouring data into Mikazuki's end. The amount of data was staggering, and it caused a small stream of blood to drip down from his nose. However, this minor tinge of pain wasn't enough to knock the boy out. Far from it. In fact, the boy couldn't help but feel… reassured when he felt that sharp sting of pain.

It felt almost as though _Barbatos_ was welcoming him back from his long absence. And seeing the familiar logo of the Eighth Demon of Ares Goetia appearing alongside the model number and names, **ASW-G-08** _Gundam Barbatos_ , were enough to make the pilot smile as the cockpit shut itself.

Slowly but surely, the _Gundam_ was powering up. Augus could faintly hear both Ahab Reactors rev up behind the cockpit of the unit. However, as the unit powered up, the boy couldn't help but feel conflicted once more, even as he gripped the controls of his unit, ready to head into combat… if not for the fact that he was hesitating.

' _Should I…?'_ thought Mikazuki as he loosened his grip on the controls. The boy stared at his hand, down at his wrist where the bracelet Atra gave him so long ago had been removed. Staring down at the ground, the boy saw that it had apparently dropped down onto the base of the cockpit all those years ago, before he was enlisted into the Trainee Corps. Leaning down, he picked it up and too a sniff. And, somehow defying all known laws of the universe, the small, blue coloured bracelet still held the scent of strawberries, a scent which calmed him down as he leaned back against his cockpit chair.

What should he do…

Initially, he intended on bringing _Barbatos_ into the picture as a way to help his newer friends fend off the Titans… but now that he was in the unit, he was having second thoughts. He could very easily escape the confines of these walls, and he was certain that he had enough rations to stave off hunger for some time outside of the Walls. That, and _Barbatos_ could very easily keep him safe.

But would he be able to live with himself knowing that he abandoned his comrades… his friends? The answer was simple, but Mikazuki's mind was still in a turmoil of uncertainty…

Uncertainty… which was almost immediately resolved when he turned to the side and spotted a small slip of paper, folded in half and practically crushed by now. Picking it up, the boy unfolded it, remembering it as the letter which Ms Carolina, had written for him.

And when he opened the letter, he absentmindedly allowed himself to read it…

* * *

 _Dear Mikazuki Augus,_

 _Whenever Nac finds you, I hope he remembers to give you this letter! It may not be that obvious, but the boy tends to forget things from time to time!_

 _Anyhow, this letter will most likely be unable to convey my emotions very well, but I must say that I am proud of both you and Annie for making the Graduating Top Ten in your brigade! To think that my very own children would make it this far! You two really do make me a proud parent!_

 _I would also like to thank you for taking care of Mina, Nac and, occasionally, Annie during your time as Trainees! I was wrong to worry about them so much! After all, despite all your rough edges, you truly are a wonderful big brother to the three of them!_

 _Now, remember to return soon! I have so much to catch up with you!_

 _Love, your very own mother~_

* * *

And despite him not being one to be sappy, even when reading things like this, Mikazuki couldn't help but feel something wet slide down his cheek. It trailed its way down his cheek and edged off his chin, eventually landing down and creating a small, wet mark on the letter that was given to him.

By then, Augus noted that he was silently weeping to himself. Surprised, he ran an index finger over his left eyelids and wiped what remained of the tears off his eyes. He did the same with the right, though instead of using his index finger, he used his entire right palm to dry his eye.

When the deed was done, the boy stared blankly at the small, wet spot on the center of his palm. That tear… it wasn't caused anger or sadness, or even hopelessness, something he felt so long ago…

No, it was caused by an emotion which was still unfamiliar to Mika, even though he was shown it for about five whole years… it was caused by _love_.

He didn't show it much, but Mikazuki Augus did truly love Mina, Nac, Annie and Ms Carolina. Sure, he loved them in his own unique fashion, but it was love nonetheless.

And Mikazuki Augus would be damned if he abandoned anyone whom he loved…

With one last wipe of both his eyes, and after slipping on the bracelet Atra had made for him, the pilot took a deep breath in, folding the letter he received from Ms Carolina as he did so. The boy slotted it under his Trainee Corp jacket to keep it from fluttering around in the cockpit, and with that deed done, Mikazuki gripped the control modules of his unit with newfound resolve.

"Ready, _Barbatos_?" asked Mika out of habit. However, in response to that question, the first thing it has really heard from its pilot in five years, the _Gundam's_ optics roared to life, flashing a bright, green hue as steam was expelled from every last vent in its body.

* * *

"Reload and fire! Do not let any more into _Trost_!"

Those were the orders barked by a single _Garrison_ commander atop the eastern side of Wall _Trost_ as his comrades sent another wave of cannons at the Titans down below. They intended on keeping as many of the monstrosities out, though they were having difficulties doing so. A total of about twenty Titans managed to make their way past their defences, and the stress was clearly getting to the commander by now.

And unfortunately for him, that stress was about to get a lot worse.

Without much of a warning, a loud explosion could be heard from the interior of _Trost_ , prompting everyone within earshot to turn towards it. And what they saw made them nearly faint from shock.

At first, the was simply smoke at where an old barn used to be. And suddenly, they saw _it_ emerge from the cloud of smoke.

It's lanky figure bore a strong contrast to the usually round bodies of the Titans, and from where they stood, the soldiers could make out that it was a vague colour of white. It's green eyes were as bright as an emerald under the sunlight, and even though they were at least fifty metres away from it, the _Garrison_ commander almost immediately knew what that… _thing_ was.

"T-THAT… THAT'S THE-"

"SHUT UP! Don't startle the rest and get back to firing!. I know what that thing is…" proclaimed the Commander as he a flare into his issued flare gun. He then shot the flare in the sky, signalling to the others that a major anomaly had occurred not too far from at the gates.

The man then lowered his arm as he stared down at the _Mechanical Titan_ , who let out an almost anamilistic howl as it bent down ever so slightly, with flames being emitted from several spots on its body. And within a few seconds, the flames boosted the Titan forward, straight towards the breach in _Trost_.

And by then, the _Garrison_ commander noticed that his hands were shaking intensely, with his grip on the flare gun tightening as he gave a sad smile.

' _As if this day couldn't get any worse…'_

* * *

 **The feck is this?**

 **Two chapters in such a short period of time?**

 **What demented shiet is this?**

 **Anyhow, with the publishment of this chapter, we finally,** _ **FINALLY**_ **get into the** _ **Trost**_ **arc of Shingeki No Kyojin, and** _ **Barbatos**_ **finally returns. Took us 11.5 entire chapters to get here, but I'd say it's worth it, maybe.**

 **If anyone here was wondering, the only reason this was updated so quickly is because I had a two week break and decided to cobble together chapters 11 and 12. I enjoyed writing to say the least, but hopefully you guys enjoy reading this chapter.**

 **Oh and I do have a review. This makes me happier than it reasonably should.**

* * *

 **noobie53: well thanks. I gotta admit, not using any Super Robot Gundams made this story a bit more difficult, but it was fun either way. And yes, as a spoiler, that will happen in a future chapter. Though which chapter it'll happen in is still up for debate.**

* * *

 **Anyhow, I think I'll need to worry about updating another story now. See ya then.**

* * *

 **Earth**

With a sigh, the _Mobile Suit_ overseer who worked under the Seven Star member, Mcgillis Fareed, placed his tablet down and pinched the bridge of his nose. It has been a hard day for the guy, what with all the units he had to repair.

Before he could leave the office, however, his tablet flashed, and he absentmindedly picked it up. And he raised an eyebrow when he saw what it read.

 **ASW-G-08** , _Gundam Barbatos_.

The frequency of the Ahab Wave was absurdly weak, almost to the point where it was undetectable. But here it was, and the overseer couldn't help but feel confused at seeing it. Wasn't the unit destroyed all those years ago?

Either way, he thought that he may as well give this over to Mcgillis himself. Perhaps he'd have an idea as to why his tablet was picking up this Ahab Signal…


	13. Return of the Devil

**Quick AN: the start of this chapter happens some time before the end of the previous one**

* * *

 _ **Trost**_ **, Eastern sector**

"Steady now, all of you!"

That was the single order issued by Commander Flex as they closed in on the third Titan her team had come across in the past fifteen metres. The Titan, a Thirteen metre class, had its attention fully fixed on the civilian before it, giving the team of Five enough time to circle around it and get a clear shot at its nape. Flex herself narrowed her eyes as she zoned in on the weak point of their target, though before she could speed up and perhaps strike it, Nac himself shot past her. "Tias, wait!"

Ignoring his superior for perhaps the first time since that incident with Keith wishing for him to smack Mina back in the day, Nac went straight for the Titan's nape. And, with a grunt, the normally weak boy sliced shockingly deep into its nape, downing it with a single swing before he landed on the ground below rather harshly with a slight roll, right in front of the civilian that had been chased by the Titan.

The Titan itself wobbled ever so slightly before falling to its side, crashing into the side of a building in the process. Nac himself stood up as it fell over to the side, staring at the Titan as it crashed into the building, giving a very slight, self congratulating smile as the civilian he had just saved stared at him with wide eyes. After a slight moment, however, Nac turned over and jogged towards that civilian and knelt down before him.

"You alright there, sir?" asked Nac, kneeling down to check on the civilian as he helped the man up to his feet. When he was up, the civilian gave a very subtle nod as he nodded in thanks. Tias himself smirked as he patted his shoulders, though before long, he felt himself get pulled away from the civilian as Thomas and Mylius moved over to take his place to calm the civilian.

Widening his eyes as he was dragged away from the civilian, Nac gasped and offered no resistance as he was pulled over to the side, right in front of a rather furious _Garrison_ Commander.

"Nac Tias, what has gotten into you?!" demanded Flex as she sheathed one of her blades to point at her junior with an accusing finger. Nac himself flinched at the motion as he looked down at his feet, at least a little ashamed for disobeying orders. "You could have been killed, kid!"

"But… the civilian…" began Nac, only to be cut off by his commander.

"We would have reached it before he was grabbed!" was his immediate retort as the _Garrison_ hardened her gaze. "You could have missed the nape and had the Titan turn on you! Or what if you killed it and it fell forward, _onto_ the civilian?! Did you not consider those alternatives before recklessly charging in for the kill?!"

"No, ma'am," answered Nac, frowning deeply his commander kept her still angered eyes fixed on the Cadet. Before Flex could give Nac any more of her mind, however, Mina walked up to her side and gently rested a hand on her commander's shoulder, catching her attention.

"Commander, what matters is that Nac took down the Titan," defended Mina. "Sure, it was reckless, but he still saved a civilian, didn't he?"

"He did, but…" grumbled Flex, seeming intent on grilling Tias even more, though she had to pinch the bridge of her nose in order to keep herself calm. They had more pressing matters to worry about. It took her a second, though once that time was up, she turned to Nac with a more passive expression. "Nac Tias, I understand that you are going through a rather difficult time right now, what with your home District being under siege. But please, try to act rationally. I don't want any more casualties than necessary, am I understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," replied Nac with a nod and a rigid salute, and with that, the conversation was over. Flex swiftly moved on to issue an order to Thomas specifically, and as the senior issued her orders to him, Mylius, Mina and Nac gathered together behind their Commander, with the former two staring at the latter with concerned expressions.

"N-Nac, you alright there, bud?" began Mylius, resting a hand on his taller comrade's shoulder. The boy in question let out a sigh as he turned to the blonde, attempting to give a smile, though he only managed to give half of one as he nodded, ignoring the steam coming up from his cheek as the Titan blood evaporated off his person.

"I am, trust me. It's just that… I guess my mind is preoccupied with a lot of stuff," assured Nac with a small smile as he slowly turned to Mina, who gave an acknowledging nod. Upon noticing the eye contact shared between the two, Mylius pieced two and two together before nodding understandingly.

"I see…" muttered Mylius, holding a hand against his chest as he frowned. Staring down at it, Zeramuski couldn't help but offer a small grimace as he clenched it into a fist, feeling horrible for bringing up such a heavy topic at such a time. "I'm sorry… for bringing it up."

"Don't apologise, Mylius!" protested Mina as she gave Mylius a gentle punch to the chest. The blonde winced at that, something that made Carolina snicker as Nac smirked, though before long, their expressions turned stoically neutral once more as the former sighed. "But still, it would've been nice if you didn't bring it up…"

Trailing off as she concluded her sentence, Mina slouched her shoulders as she crossed her arms, frowning deeply as she looked to the side. Both Mylius and Nac's faces fell a handful of metres upon hearing her rather hopeless tone and even more hopeless expression, with the latter ready to try and comfort his friend, though before he could even do so, their commander marched back up towards them, her voice drowning out his first few words.

"Let's keep moving, kids! We won't be getting anything done by standing around!" commanded Flex, adjusting her scarf as she approached them. Nac, Mina and Mylius nodded in acknowledgement, though Mylius did ask about Thomas before they departed. "I told him to escort that civilian Nac had saved to the evac point. He'll be joining the Rear Guard later on so don't expect him to return anytime soon."

"Bummer, now we're one man down," muttered Nac as their Commander swung up into the air, with her Cadets following her closely. Nac and Mina flanked her sides while Mylius brought up the rear, and the now group of four kept their eyes peeled for any nearby Titans…

"Strange, the Titans in the Eastern Wing of _Trost_ aren't as plentiful as I had expected!" pointed Nac as he landed on the top of a building. Not stopping for even a second, the Cadet sprinted atop it and slingshotted himself off the edge.

"Weird, but I'm not complaining!" responded Mylius almost immediately, swinging himself up into the air as he just barely caught the sight of Mina snickering ever so slightly, something that made his face heat up in embarrassment as, rather unfortunately, Mylius was the least competitive combatant of the team, even when Thomas was still present.

And right as those words had left Mylius' mouth, the small team of four came across a nearby team of Cadets who most certainly needed some help. As soon as they spotted them, and after Mina gave Mylius a slightly annoyed expression, the team moved to assist. And even when they were roughly fifty metres away from the group that required help, Nac could rather easily tell that the leader of said team of Cadets was none other than Eren Jaeger, who was furiously barking out orders to his fellow Cadets.

"Come on, I'll distract it! Armin, take it down! Your cut didn't work!" were among the things that Eren had yelled out at his fellow soldiers as they circled a pair of Fourteen and Nine metre class Titans. Eren himself seemed rather aggressive with his slashes, a clear contrast to the timid Armin and the weaker and more calculated ones given by his comrades, so much so that Jaeger was able to kill the Nine metre before Flex's team got close enough to provide backup, though as for the Fourteen, it seemed to be a little more than the _Shiganshina_ resident's team could handle.

"I've got it!" shrieked Armin as he closed in on the Fourteen metre's nape as one of his comrades held its attention. However, just as he was about to get within slashing distance, the Titan shot its head up and bent itself backwards to face the blonde that was coming at it, and Armin himself widened his eyes immensely when he saw that he was now headed straight for the upside down face of the Titan. As best he could, the blonde attempted to change course, but momentum wouldn't allow it as the boy was sent straight into the now open mouth of the Titan.

Screaming at the top of his lungs, Arlert attempted to pull himself out of the jaws of the Titan, but his attempt was swiftly thwarted when it slowly began applying pressure onto his abdomen. With his vision being clouded by pain and his hearing horribly muffled, Armin could barely hear the cries of his comrades around himself and the Titan that was about to bite him in half. Tears were pouring out of his twin blue eyes as he struggled to pry the mouth of the Titan open to no avail.

"ARMIN!" was what he could hear Eren yell as he felt some of the skin around his stomach tear.

However, before he could meet his premature demise, the Titan suddenly shot its mouth open, releasing Armin from its jaw and sending him plummeting towards the ground. Yelling in fear as he fell down to the ground, the saliva covered Armin was swiftly snatched out of the air by none other than Eren, and the blonde looked at his friend with wide, watery eyes.

"E-Eren…?!" proclaimed Armin, his voice strained by fear as Eren nodded at him with his teeth grit. "T-Thank you… so v-v-very much!"

"That… wasn't me who saved you…" admitted Eren as he and his friend landed on the top of the closest building. Jaeger wasted no time in laying Armin down on the roof and checking on his now bloodstained abdomen, though he did spare a glance at the Fourteen metre Titan, only to widen his eyes when he saw its current predicament.

The Fourteen metre was now standing on both legs, shaking its head violently from side to side while flailing its arm around in an attempt to remove something on its face.

That something, as it turned out, was none other than Mina, who was currently latched onto the face of the Fourteen metre, both her Anti-Titan blades jammed into both of its eye sockets. The Cadet still held onto her blades firmly even as the now blinded Titan attempted to shake her off, with her simple response to it's efforts being to jam her blade deeper into its eye sockets, grimacing fiercely as she did.

And before she could be thrown off, another member of Mina's team, namely Commander Flex herself, swooped in and sliced straight into the nape of the Titan with surgical precision. Tensing up as soon as it's weak spot was slashed, the Titan swung it's head to the side one last time before going limp, though that final swing of it's head was strong enough to snap the blades that were jammed into its eyes, prompting Mina to get swung off to the side with her eyes wide and mouth agape.

Before she herself landed on the ground, however, her blonde comrade managed to swoop in and snatch her out of the air. Rather unsteadily, Mylius swung both himself and Mina up to the roof where Eren and Armin had landed on. He was semi-successful as both he and Carolina managed to get atop it, though their landing was not exactly graceful, with Mylius himself rolling to a stop while Mina landed right on her back.

"Thanks… for the save, Mylius…" thanked Mina as she stood herself up, staring at her now broken Anti-Titan blades as she did. Zeramuski simply stayed on his back as he breathed in and out heavily, though he did offer a shaky thumbs up. Mina snickered ever so slightly at that as Nac landed down on the roof and jogged towards them.

"Nice work there, Mina! And that was quite the save, Mylius!" praised Nac with a smirk as he got up to them his friend down. Mina herself mirrored her friend's expression as she gave a thumbs up while Mylius simply gave a thumbs up, not sure if his voice would work at the moment. However, that small respite was interrupted when the three of them noticed Eren, alongside the rest of his team, not too far from the two, cradling Armin in his arms as another member of his team examined the blonde's injured abdomen. "No… Armin…"

Stepping forward as he spoke, Nac intended on moving to provide at least some moral support to Eren's now demoralised team. Before he could, however, a hand seized his shoulder and stopped him from doing so, prompting him to turn around and spot Flex staring at him with an expression that told him to hang back. The taller teen was reluctant to do so, but Flex's gaze hardened, telling him that she was not willing to take no for an answer, so he complied, prompting the _Garrison_ commander to nod in approval before approaching Team Eren.

As she did, Tias turned back to Mylius and Mina. The boy watched as the latter hoisted the former up to his feet. The girl smirked and thanked the blonde for his assistance, prompting the boy to chuckle in embarrassment as he bounced her compliments off as Tias approached them.

"Even so… was pretty cool of you, Mina, what with how you saved Armin," responded Mylius with a wave of his hands as Nac got up beside Mina, who turned and regard him before she looked back at Mylius. "That, and I didn't do that much…"

"But she could've become a splat on the ground if not for you," added Nac with a smirk as he gently punched his blonde friend's shoulder. "Sure, you didn't do too much, but you still helped in some way, y'know?"

"I suppose…" muttered Mylius, sounding rather defeated as he gave a nod before looking past Nac and Mina, over at Team Eren, who was being given new orders by their Commander, with Tias and Carolina doing the same. The trio couldn't catch what Commander Flex was saying, though they didn't exactly pay much attention to her as they kept their attention on their surroundings, making sure that no Titans would come too close for comfort. "I hope they'll be fine."

"Yeah, likewise," agreed Nac with a nod, though as he spoke, the boy's eyes trailed off to the side, locking onto Mina, who had her attention affixed entirely on Team Eren. her expression worried Nac ever so slightly, seeing as she seemed rather… off, perhaps? She did appear worried for the team, but she also seemed to be thinking about something else as she did… something perhaps more personal.

With a quirked brow, Tias opened his mouth to ask his friend a question, only for her to walk over to the edge of the roof they were currently on. Nac watched as Mina moved over to stand right at the edge and replace both her broken Anti-Titan blades, flinging the shattered blade stumps off the building and storing the handles in a sheath that held fresh blades. Once the deed was done, Mina released her grips on her Anti-Titan blades and and crossed her arms, rubbing her right upper arm in a rather worried way as she stared out into the distance. Turning to Mylius, the black haired boy motioned for him to stay put as he sheathed both his Anti-Titan blades and walked up to Mina's side.

"You alright there, Mina?" began Nac as he stopped beside his friend, lifting a hand up to rest it on her shoulder. Mina didn't reply, prompting Nac to sigh ever so slightly as he lowered the hand he held on her shoulder and moved both his hands behind his back, looking over at what Mina was staring at herself.

The breach.

The girl was staring intently at the breach in _Trost_. Though she appeared rather passive as she stared at it, the girl seemed visibly angered. Nac himself noted that her fists were clenching and unclenching from time to time, with each clench seeming more intense than the last, and her breathing seemed to hitch every so often.

' _She's angry,'_ thought Nac as he eyed his friend, frowning as he rested a hand over the handle of his Anti-Titan blade. Seeing her like this… it made Nac slouch his shoulders as he bit his bottom lip. The boy wished that he could calm her down, tell her that things would be alright… but he knew that he would by lying as well. The fact that Nac himself was, admittedly, close to blowing a fuse himself wasn't exactly helping matters at all.

Despite his calm appearance, Nac was having an internal struggle with keeping himself calm. If anything, he was surprised that he had kept himself cool for as long as he has. To see _Trost_ , the very District he grew up in, be invaded by the Titans was… unpleasant to say the least, almost enough to make him snap and rush to tackle the largest group of Titans he could find with all he had, but he kept that emotion in check. Acting rationally was difficult, even for him, but it was best if he did so.

Of course, the fact that a certain someone had been gone for an extended period of time, someone that both he and Mina really did care about didn't really help calm either of them.

"Hey, Nac?" muttered Mina rather abruptly, snapping Nac out of his mild trance and turn to his shorter friend, who was now staring at him with worry apparent in her eyes. The taller boy gave a gently grunt as he nodded, giving Mina the go to continue. "Do you think… Mika…"

Biting her lip as she stopped herself from finishing that sentence, Mina grimaced rather intensely as Nac turned his head down to stare at his feet, reluctant to answer Mina truthfully. Despite himself not wishing to accept it, Mikazuki's extended absence from their team was… worrying to say the least. There was no way Mika was lost. Nac himself gave the boy a full tour around _Trost_ back before they became Cadets, and even if he did _somehow_ get himself lost in the District, his Maneuver Gear would've helped him navigate around the District with very little issue…

So… the only real logical conclusion to Mikazuki's fate…

"He's fine," lied Nac, going against his conclusion to his friend's fate as he turned to Mina, giving her a forced, optimistic stare. Mina herself seemed skeptical, but her expression hardened as she nodded, willing to allow the false hope of Mikazuki still being somewhere out there to keep herself going as she turned to Tias. "It's Mikazuki, I'm sure that he can handle himself better than either of us."

"Yeah, you're right…!" agreed Mina, clenching both her fists as she gave a small smile directed at Tias. "He'll be fine… I'm certain of it!"

In response to that, Nac couldn't help but give a smirk, allowing Mina's newfound confidence to affect him as he gave a thumbs up. However, before they could get ahead of themselves, their attentions were directed towards Mylius, who called out their names.

"Hey… Mina, Nac?" called out Zeramuski rather nervously, prompting the two in question to turn towards him. The blonde, alongside Commander Flex and Team Eren, had their heads craned up into the air, staring up at a Purple Flare that had been shot up into the air. Flex herself was kneeling over Armin as she stared up at the Flare, and as soon as she saw it, she stood herself up.

"An emergency this early into the battle…?!" proclaimed Flex, sounding less calm than usual as she grimaced. Mylius himself gulped as Mina and Nac raced up to his sides, eyes wide as they joined the others in staring at the Purple Flare that was slowly flying up into the air. Flex, however, turned away from it after some time to turn and regard Eren and his teammates. "Eren Jaeger, get Armin Arlert out of here, _now_! You and your team are to withdraw from the battle!"

"Commander, with all due respect-" began a member of Eren's Vanguard Team, only to be cut off by Flex.

"With all due respect, Cadet, you have an injured teammate. Get him some medical attention," ordered Flex, her voice firm as she retorted to her junior, pointing towards the innermost Wall of _Rose_. "If you wish to help us, get us some reinforcements, am I understood?!"

"...yes, ma'am," was her reluctant answer from that Cadet as the rest of Team Eren moved to withdraw from combat. Eren himself was shockingly fine with withdrawing, though Nac suspected that the fact that Armin was injured had something to do with him being willing to fall back.

As soon as Team Eren had withdrawn, with Armin being cradled in the arms of Eren as they boosted off, leaving Team Flex behind to stare at the still rising Purple Signal Flare.

"Commander… what are your orders?" asked Nac reluctantly as Flex gave a mild grimace. That single grimace made her teammates shiver ever so slightly, and they knew what she was about to order them to do before she even said it.

"We're moving to investigate," ordered Flex, pointing the tip of one of her Anti-Titan blades at where the Purple Signal Flare originated from. At first, none of them spoke up, staying uncertainty silent as they let what their Commander had said sink in. Before long, however, Mylius responded to Flex's order with a rather reasonable inquiry.

"With all due respect, Commander… but _why_?" inquired Mylius as calmly as he could, earning him a raised brow from his Commander. "It's a Purple Signal Flare… an _emergency_! Whenever it's used, it's used to signal that something _extremely bad_ had happened! If it's so bad that the properly trained members of the Military Brigade can't handle it without backup, then what makes you think _we_ can handle it?!"

"We're not going to _handle_ it," answered Flex as she walked past Mylius, towards the edge of the building to stare at where the Purple Flare was shot from. "We're simply scouting out whatever caused the _Garrison_ stationed there to fire that Flare and report it back to the rear guard. I myself am fine with going alone, so if any of you wanna withdraw alongside Team Eren, I won't stop you…"

Mina herself thought that she heard Flex mutter _'wussies'_ at the end, though she ignored it as she stepped forward, undaunted by the danger they would certainly be put in if they followed their Commander.

"Like Hell I'm gonna let you go alone, Commander!" proclaimed Mina, clenching a fist as she nodded firmly. Nac himself was quick to agree with his friend, and Mylius reluctantly did so, prompting Flex to smirk.

"Looks like Keith did a good job whipping you kids into shape!" proclaimed Flex with a fierce smirk, only to motion for them to move. "Come on, kids, let's move!"

And with that, Flex herself sprinted off the edge of the building and slingshot herself towards where the Purple Flare was shot from. Mina, Nac and Mylius followed close behind her, with Mylius himself lagging behind out of fear.

"So, what do you reckon caused that Flare to be shot up?" inquired Mina as she twirled herself up into the air. To her side, Nac shrugged as he slingshot himself into the air and fired his anchors into the side of the nearest building.

"They're many possible reasons," began Nac, sounding rather thoughtful. "The Eastern wing of _Trost_ is well known for being excessively hot. Titans are known to linger around the warmer regions, namely the southern locations, or in our case, the south-east segments of _Trost_. If I were to make a guess, the southeast sector of _Trost_ is being overruned by Titans, too much for the _Garrison_ there to handle."

"That's an unpleasant thought…" admitted Mylius, swinging to the side to avoid slamming into the side of a building. To his side, Mina gave a soft snicker.

"But hey, who knows? Maybe it was a misfire, or perhaps a cannon that fell off the side of the wall."

And both Nac and Mylius both hoped for Mina to be correct on that front.

* * *

 **Not too long after**

Whatever that emergency was, it was definitely not a cannon that fell off the Wall, and the entirety of Team Flex could attest to it as they now stood on the top of a still standing building that stood nearly fifty metres away from a massive cloud of smoke that surrounded… _something_.

"What in the world is _that_ …?" began Mina as what appeared to be an elbow could be seen emerging from the cloud of smoke, only to disappear back into it as whatever was at the epicenter of the cloud launched a punch, as evident by the fact that a sound that was akin to a skull being smashed open could be heard.

"Does anyone else hear the sound of… pistons… and gears…?" asked Mylius in an attempt to make sure that he was not hearing wrongly as a flash of green could be briefly seen in the cloud of smoke.

"Yeah… and… does that thing look… _mechanical_? Or am I just seeing things…?" muttered Nac in disbelief as a 'foot' came into view, dragging itself out of the cloud of smoke before bolting back inside, perhaps to launch a kick or to strike something with a knee.

And finally, after roughly a minute of wide eyed silence, their Commander spoke up with her voice dripping with disbelief.

"Impossible…" muttered the senior _Garrison_ , catching the attention of her three juniors as her shoulders slackened. Turning towards her, Nac, Mina and Mylius raised their brows as their Commander widened her eyes to their fullest extent. "The _Survey Corps_ had been looking for this… _thing_ for the past Five years without any real luck, and now, when _Trost_ comes under siege… it returns…"

Before any one of her fellow soldiers could ask her what she meant, the massive cloud of smoke was dispelled rather abruptly, accompanied by a strong shake of the ground beneath them, prompting the three Cadets and their Commander to lose their balance ever so slightly before whirling back and stare at the now dispelled cloud of smoke, only to widen their eyes at what they saw.

With its white armour atop a greyish skeleton alongside a massive 'Mace' in its left arm and what appeared to be a massive sword sheathed onto its back, the… _thing's_ appearance matched the fabled _Mechanical Titan_ of _Shiganshina_ to a tee. The mere sight of the Titan, a Titan that was meant to not exist, was enough to make the three juniors step back in fear while the lone senior seemed frozen in fear, though the entire group still managed to see what it was doing.

The _Mechanical Titan_ was kneeling down on one knee, its back facing them as its left hand held onto its massive Mace-like weapon while its right had its fingers wrapped around the neck of a Fifteen metre Titan, a Titan that had its left arm and both legs missing. Its right arm was missing at the elbow and was slowly regenerating, though it didn't get too far before the _Mechanical Titan_ crushed its neck, in turn squashing its nape.

"The rumors really were true…" muttered Nac as he stepped back, a gesture that was mirrored by the other two Juniors. Flex, however, remained passive as she watched the _Mechanical Titan_ turned over to face an approaching Four metre Titan. "The _Mechanical Titan_ does exist…"

Right as those words left his mouth, the _Mechanical Titan_ took a step back, and right as the Four metre Titan was about to reach it, the mechanical monstrosity swung its leg at it, kicking it with the strength of a tidal wave. On impact, the Four metre Titan combusted into a rain of blood and guts, something that made the entirety of Team Flex wince.

Following up from that, and after the _Mechanical Titan_ slammed its foot back down onto the ground, it turned to face a pair of Titans that were roughly Fifteen and Twelve metres. The first to be eliminated was the Fifteen metre, who attempted to tackle its much larger counterpart. Instead of sidestepping the tackle, however, the _Mechanical Titan_ did something rather unthinkable.

Crouching down mildly as soon as it saw the Titan charging, the _Mechanical Titan_ itself was unmoving for a short while, and right as the Fifteen metre was about ten metres away from it, the 18.8 metre sprung up into the air, an act that made at least Mylius gasp in shock. It was justified, however, as the Titan did just leap up nearly ten to fifteen metres into the air.

At first, Nac had expected the _Mechanical Titan_ to land away from the Fifteen metre Titan. However, he was swiftly corrected when it had landed right _on top_ of it. Upon landing atop it, the _Mechanical Titan_ quite literally liquified it under its massive frame, creating a rather noticeable shockwave and kicking a massive cloud of smoke as it landed. That shockwave was enough to make Team Flex step back and shield their eyes.

The Twelve metre was able to stay on its feet in spite of the shockwave. However, within a few seconds, a hand shot out and grasped its head. And, emerging from the cloud of smoke, the _Mechanical Titan_ stood itself up and lifted the Twelve metre up to eye level. Team Flex watched with mildly baited breath as the larger Titan stared down the shorter, organic one.

And finally, the _Mechanical Titan_ quite literally _threw_ the Titan straight over the Wall of _Trost_ , lobbing it straight over the Fifty metre wall. A _splat_ could be vaguely heard on the other side as it landed, and that simple display of strength was enough to make both Team Flex and the _Garrison_ atop the Wall the Twelve metre was tossed over slack jawed.

' _The Titan that kills other Titans and supposedly spares humans,'_ thought Flex with apprehension as the 'Titan' moved to stand in a more natural, upright position. Without any warning, steam was expelled from multiple vent-like structures on its chassis, partially clouding it from view, though it didn't stop the Cadets and _Garrison_ Commander from staring at its partially obstructed figure with wide eyes.

The three Cadets were both in awe and disbelief at the sight of the Titan that would theoretically never exist. To even Mina, who was known to believe some outlandish stuff, the _Mechanical Titan_ was nothing more than a myth made up by refugees of _Shiganshina_ / _Maria_ following the collapse of the District/Wall, perhaps as a way to cope with their losses. Never in their lives would they believe that the _Mechanical Titan_ was an actual entity that existed, at least until they saw it with their own eyes.

As for their Commander, she herself was more shocked than fearful at the sight of the _Mechanical Titan_ returning from its nearly Five year disappearance. To see this… thing return to 'assist' humanity, so to speak, was oddly calming to the _Garrison_ , though her instinctual fear of this… _thing_ was more than enough to keep her on edge.

"C-Commander…" muttered Mylius as soon as he regained his marbles, prompting the _Garrison_ senior to snap out of it and turn to face the blonde, who seemed close to having a panic attack. The boy gulped as he stepped back, tightening his grip on the handles of his Anti-Titan blades immensely. "W-What are your orders…!?"

Turning to Nac and Mina, the senior could tell that they were almost or perhaps just as tense as their blonde friend, with the former appearing to be close to experiencing a heart attack while the latter shook rather intensely with fear. And it took about a second for Flex to figure out the best course of action.

"We're falling back, now!" she ordered, and her three juniors offered no complaints as they turned on their heels and sprinted away from where the _Mechanical Titan_ stood. Flex herself made sure that her Cadets were all off the roof before she herself sprinted after them.

Right before she leapt off, however, Flex took one final glance at the _Mechanical Titan_ , only to feel some of her blood freeze when she saw that it was now staring at her with those cold green 'eyes'. Almost immediately, the _Garrison_ Commander snapped her head back forward and leapt off the roof and swung off to catch up with her Cadets.

* * *

"That… that's the _Mechanical Titan_ , isn't it?!" was the first thing Flex heard Mylius yell as soon as she caught up with them. The team didn't stop for a moment, simply doing their best to increase the distance between themselves and the Titan of Myth, and Flex wasted no time in responding.

"Yes, it is!" she answered almost instantaneously, doing her best to force herself from turning her head back to stare at the _Mechanical Titan_ behind them. Do that end, she barked out an order to her Cadets, one that was so simply that even a civilian could perform. "We're going to inform the Rear Guard about this, am I understood?!"

Flex's voice told the rest of her team that there was no room for argument. And even if there was, none of her teammates raised and objections as they kept moving onwards. However, not too long after Flex had issued that order, Mylius, who was noticeably lagging behind the team ever so slightly, noticed something coming their way from the left. Shakily turning his head to see what it was, the blonde could only widen his eyes before he yelled out: "INCOMING!"

Right as he yelled that one warning, the entirety of his team snapped their heads to the left and widened their eyes as an Five metre Titan came barreling straight at them. Mylius himself had to slow down in order to avoid a _head on_ collision with the Titanwhile Mina, Nac and Flex were required to speed up in order to evade it.

Fortunately for all three, they were able to evade the Titan, who crashed straight into the closest building not long after. Mylius used that as an opportunity to zip past it and catch up with his team, and right as he regrouped with them, the Five metre Titan had recovered from its crash into the building and sprinted after the four.

"Tsk… this Titan's acting odd," muttered Flex with a grimace as she gave a mild glance back, raising her brows in terror when she saw the Five metre closing in on her team. "Definitely an Abnormal!"

"Any plans for dealing with it, Commander?!" exclaimed Mina fearfully. Her response was a grimace from Flex as she put some thought into Mina's question. Her occupation as a _Garrison_ had robbed her of the experience that most _Survey Corps_ had, and as such she had no real experience with dealing with Abnormals, so much so that she was stumped as to how they should go about combating this one.

"I-" began Flex, only to be cut off by Mylius.

"INCOMING!" exclaimed the blonde from behind them, prompting the team to whirl around and widen their eyes when they saw the Five metre Abnormal leap straight at them. Fueled by adrenaline, the entire team scattered as soon as they saw it.

"This thing's tenacious…" muttered Nac as the team regrouped, keeping their eyes on the Titan that had crashed down onto the ground. To his left, Mylius gave a nod while Commander Flex grimaced. And as for Mina… wait… where was Mina?

That was when the team realized that Mina was not by their sides, and it didn't take long for them to spot that the Five metre Abnormal Titan had her smaller by comparison body in its grip. Mina herself struggled to free herself from the Titan's vice-like grip, though her efforts amounted to nothing more than wishful thinking.

"Mina-" began Mylius, getting ready to state the obvious, only for Nac to shoot past the blond, charging straight for the Five metre Abnormal at with rather impressive speed.

"MINA!" was all Nac could really yell out as he moved to swiftly close the distance between himself and his longtime friend. Back during and even before they became Cadets, Nac had swore both a personal and verbal oath to himself and Ms Carolina, respectively, that he, as the oldest child in the Carolina household, would protect the three that were younger than him. With Mikazuki supposedly dead, Nac himself could barely keep himself together. And as soon as he was faced with the sight of Mina's small body in the grip of the Titan ready to be consumed by the foul beast, something within the boy snapped and sent him barreling at the Five metre Abnormal at top speed.

"Nac Tias, wait!" exclaimed Flex, who was hoping that they could perform a coordinated takedown to reduce the risk of having two Cadets be taken out, but the boy in question was past listening to orders at this point. Another one of his friends was quite literally staring death right in the face, and if he didn't act _now_ , she would be lost.

' _Come on…'_ thought Nac as he narrowed his eyes, his vision locked firmly onto the nape of the Five metre Abnormal. He estimated that he would take, at best, roughly a Five more seconds to reach it, though to his horror, Mina was already being moved close to the Titan's mouth, prompting Nac to grit his teeth and grip his Anti-Titan blade handles harder. _'COME ON!'_

Despite being rather far from her, Nac could see that Mina herself was quite visibly bawling at this point. While her crying was definitely expected, that expression was more than enough to make Nac feel his eyes water up as he clenched his teeth harder against one another in desperation.

Mina couldn't die here, she _couldn't_ … the two of them still had so much to do! To explore the wonders of the outside world together with Mika and Annie. To join the _Survey Corps_. To help with mankind's victory… that and so much more. To have it end right here, with Mina being so unceremoniously killed in action… it was something that Nac downright _refused_ to let happen.

' _ALMOST THERE!"_

His determination only grew when he saw the Titan open its mouth, ready to insert Mina's head into its jaws and gnaw it off, and though the girl did make an effort to resist, the Titan very easily overpowered her and shoved her head into its mouth. Upon seeing that, Nac widened his eyes immensely. He was roughly a second away from reaching Mina… and within a second, she would be dead…

"MINA!"

And right as the name of his longtime friend left his lips, Nac heard it.

It wasn't the sound of a Maneuver Gear, far from it, actually. No, it sounded more like a primal roar of sorts, one that was vaguely similar to the roar of a furnace, only amplified by a hundred. Upon hearing this strange sound, Nac himself found his focus fading as he turned to stare at where it originated from… only to be knocked out of the way when a massive 'body' blasted straight past him.

Despite having only a split second to register what had just happened, Nac was still able to catch a glimpse of what the thing that had knocked him back looked like, or at the very least, he was able to spot it's oddly white 'skin'…

And as soon as it blasted past him, Nac saw the Five metre Abnormal Titan disappear into a massive cloud of smoke as the newcomer slammed straight into it.

* * *

Grimacing rather intensely as she coughed, Mina required roughly a second to get her bearings back together as she took in her surroundings.

Strange… wasn't she just in the mouth of that Titan, about to have her head be bitten off? For her part, Mina knew that she was supposed to be dead. She was certain of it…

So why was she laying on her side on the strangely cold concrete ground of _Trost_ , inside a massive cloud of dust and smoke? Where did that Five metre Abnormal Titan go? And more importantly, _how_ was she still alive?

And the newest question: why did the ground beneath her feel oddly cold…?

The answers to all three of her questions came rather quickly, however, when she stared down and saw that she was currently laying on a massive metal _hand_. Swiftly widening her eyes beyond belief, Mina shot herself upright, only to stop when she felt a mild ache go through her back. As the aching dulled, Carolina felt her head instinctively turn to eye the hand she was sitting on.

The entire hand, fingers and all, was perhaps the same height as Mina from top to bottom and perhaps twice as wide as her. Each of the fingers were curled up around Mina's smaller by comparison body, practically trapping the girl in its grip. However, Mina's eyes were quickly torn off the hand she was sitting on when she heard what appeared to be several pistons and gears shift right in front of her, prompting her to snap her head back forward, only to audibly gulp when she saw twin green 'lights' aimed directly at her.

Those green 'lights' and the hand she was currently sitting on gave Mina a good idea of what had just 'saved' her, and her thought was confirmed as the the clouds of dust slowly parted in a way that allowed her to see segment after segment of the Titan, though within five seconds, Mina could confirm that this was indeed the very thing that her team was trying to avoid. And she could only widen her eyes immensely at the mere sight of it.

Kneeling down in front of her with its twin emerald green 'eyes' boring into her light greys, her 'savior' had of its arms outstretched towards, namely its right arm whose hand she was sitting on, while the other hung by its side. If Mina was calmer and more focused, she would have noticed that the Five metre Abnormal Titan's corpse was underneath her 'savior's' massive metal frame, apparently having been run over by it.

Unfortunately, being calm and focused was nearly impossible for Mina as of now. One couldn't blame her, however, as she was now right in front of the ever infamous _Mechanical Titan_ , the Ghost of _Shiganshina_ and _Maria_.

And the fact that she was sitting on its hand only made her sweat profusely as she felt her eyes water up at least a little.

' _Oh shit…'_

* * *

 **So after quite a substantial amount of rewrites and me barraging my proofreader who was kind enough to sit through my shit, Chapter 13 is up. I think the fact that I have a 1 month break from college helped as well.**

 **What? I have a proofreader? Actually, he's a friend whos kind enough to help be point out inconsistencies and errors. I love him in a non-homo way.**

 **Anyhow, as you can see, this chapter is entirely told through the eyes of Mina, Nac, Mylius and Commander Flex. She's the only OC who'll be shown more than once, I promise. The next chapter will most likely include more of Mika's side on all this, so stay tuned.**

 **I'll just reply to the reviews now**

* * *

 **Andromeda: yes, she will**

 **Artyom-Dreizehn: thanks for the thumbs up!**

 **noobie53: trust me, the way they'll find Mika proper is gonna be weird, even by my standards. And yes, love triangle. Because I hate my sanity.**

 **CT7567Rules: yes, yes it is**

 **RaiserNT: ah shucks, thanks.**

 **Hangzoed: firstly, you're most welcome. Secondly, I won't lie when I** _ **almost**_ **made the Trainee arc at least one chapter longer but thought better of it. Thirdly, I do hope for that as well. And finally, thanks for your luck!**

 **Guest 1: unfortunately I haven't seen Gen:LOCK just yet. It seems… interesting I suppose, but I haven't come around to it. That and something about Rooster Teeth calling it 'the most original' back in the day kinda detracts it to me, but hey there's a chance for me making a story on it. And in regards to Code Geass, I'm a little ashamed to admit I never watched it… heheh**

 **Guest 2: here ya go my friend**

 **ExTrEmE42: why thank ya my dude. Character development is what I love focusing on, and slow and steady often works better than fast and rickety. Also, here's more :D (by the way, while I was typing this reply I couldn't help but notice how the Es and the T in your name were capitalized, so I read your name as ET :P)**

* * *

 **Hey fun fact, the previous chapters were relatively easy to type out thanks to the fact that they were essentially rewritten versions of the original story. From here on out, the TNK RM will be going in a separate direction from the original version, so I can't exactly just rewrite the older chapters, so updates will take a little longer than usual to get pumped out.**

 **That and I'm also a lazy bastard who needs to get off his ass and write 5 other stories he has under his belt. The next chapter to be updated will most likely be** _ **The Devil and his Angel**_ **, though it ain't confirmed.**

 **Place your bets now, everyone. Will the next chapter to be uploaded be** _ **The Devil and his Angel Chapter 3**_ **,** _ **Iron Blooded Heroes Chapter 7**_ **… or will Stryker go insane and write** _ **Oh hey, Barbatos is a giant woman now**_ **.**

 **Hopefully the latter doesn't happen.**

 **Anyhow, I've rambled on for long enough. Time to sit back and take a breather. Shin Godzilla seems like a good movie to help me unwind. As a matter a fact, I'm listening to 'Who Will Know' as I type this outro out. Great song. I for one blame Godzilla King of the Monsters for getting me into the franchise again.**

 **God, that movie was amazing…**

 **GREAT I'M RAMBLING AGAIN.**

 **SEE YOU GUYS NEXT TIME.**


	14. The Demon's Struggle

For at least a solid minute, nobody moved.

Nac, Mylius and Flex had all swung up onto a building that stood roughly ten metres away from the cloud of smoke that cloaked the newcomer from view. Slowly, however, the smoke began to settle, allowing the three soldiers to see the thing that had 'saved' their comrade more clearly.

' _So… that's w-what it looks like up close…'_ thought Tias as he kept his gaze fixed on the 'Titan', who did not seem to notice any of them. If anything, it seemed to have its attention fixed entirely on the girl on its palm, Mina.

Mylius appeared to be close to a mental breakdown as he stared at the _Mechanical Titan_. Like his fellow soldiers, the blonde was scared speechless, and his eyes were widened beyond belief. And, at this point in time, the only thing he could do, aside from feel an immense amount of fear, was to feel a large amount of pity for Mina.

Flex, unlike her juniors, was shockingly calm while she stared at the slowly clearing smoke, giving a mild grimace as she saw the white armour of the _Mechanical Titan_.

' _After all this time,'_ thought the senior _Garrison_ as the smoke cleared just enough for her and her Cadets to get a good look at the 'Titan's' featureless face. Flex winced when she saw that vaguely recognisable white mouthplate and glassy 'eyes' it possessed, though to her credit, she did not appear to be shaken when it expelled a massive load of steam from every vent on its body, something that made Mylius and Nac both step back a little. _'Why have you returned now?'_

She then turned her attention towards its right palm that was slowly becoming visible as the dust settled, narrowing her eyes at Mina Carolina, who sat on it with her eyes wide in fear, staring into the cold, unblinking eyes of the _Mechanical Titan_.

* * *

' _And why did you bother even saving a Cadet…?'_

Sighing deeply as he slouched forward to catch his breath, Mikazuki squeezed both arm controllers of his unit as he felt the rush of adrenaline he was feeling slowly fade. While he did so, he could barely make out the voices of Nac, Mylius and Flex to his left, though he did his best to block them out as he felt his muscles relax.

His heart rate slowed to its normal speed with each breath he took, and as soon as it stabilized, the pilot turned up… and winced.

Mina… though the optical units of his _Gundam_ , Mika could very easily tell that she was horrified. Her eyes were widened up to the point where Mika began wondering if they would fall out of her head, and he also noticed that they had an oddly glassy texture to them, almost as though she was about to cry but was too terrified to do so. The boy also quickly noted that she seemed to be shaking ever so slightly, trembling in fear…

It was rather obvious to him that she was afraid of _Barbatos_ , or in simpler terms, indirectly afraid of _him_. Mika quirked an eyebrow up at that thought, finding the thought of Mina being afraid of him, indirectly or not, rather… saddening.

Opening his mouth ever so slightly, Mika found that he almost _spoke_ to Mina in spite of the fact that she would not hear him. When he realized this, he quickly shut it and silently berated how passive he had become in his time outside of _Barbatos_. Back in his _Tekkadan_ days, his actions spoke much louder than his words… but now, he used words more frequently. It wasn't exactly frequent enough that it had replaced his 'actions louder than words' schtick, but it was enough that he had grown accustomed to it.

After he closed his mouth, Mika turned towards the cockpit monitor of his unit. Staring at it for a moment, the pilot pondered the possibility of revealing himself to Mina and the others. As he thought about it, the pilot felt his eyes trail off towards a small, holographic button on the top left of his cockpit monitor. While he may not have piloted _Barbatos_ for roughly five years, Mika still remembered it as the input to pop the _Gundam's_ cockpit open.

A simple tap of the button was all Mika needed to reveal himself… to show that _Barbatos_ was on their side of this battle. That, and perhaps if he revealed himself, Mina could stop staring at _Barbatos_ … at _him_ , with that horrified expression… an expression that made him feel odd for an unknown reason. With that in mind, the former _Tekkadan_ pilot told himself that this was the right move, prompting him to slowly inch his hand towards the holographic button that would shift the cockpit down…

Only for him to stop when he heard a mild groan behind his unit. Turning his body to the left, Mika, though the very edge of _Barbatos_ cockpit/optical scanners, saw that Nac had taken a step towards his _Gundams_ still unmoving figure. His body language suggested that he was hostile towards it… and his expression…

Nac never was one to show any form of anger, so Mika seeing his friend's usually friendly face contort into an expression of controlled rage made him pause for a moment, right before his fingers tapped the holographic button that would lower the cockpit.

Despite the fact that he was inside the cockpit of _Barbatos_ , Mika couldn't help but feel… shaken up by that glare Nac was giving his unit. If anything, it felt almost as though Nac was glaring at _him_ , not _Barbatos_ … a clear warning that if _he_ did anything to Mina, he would most certainly strike him down, even if it was the last thing he would ever do.

That one thought made Mika's arm falter ever so slightly. And, almost immediately after, the pilot retracted his left arm.

He couldn't do it…

While him revealing himself to Mina, Nac, Mylius and their 'commander' would have been a smart move, Mika found that he simply could not do it. If he showed himself, would they hate him for withholding such an important secret from them for so long? Would they let it slide, as Nac put it? Or would they just consider him an enemy as _Barbatos_ was technically a Titan?

Grimacing ever so slightly at those thoughts, Mika found that his breathing was beginning to quicken. Blinking in mild surprise, Augus slowly brought his hand up to his chest, only to pause when he saw that his hand was shaking. Staring at it intently, Mika swiftly balled it up into a fist as he frowned, picturing several possible negative outcomes that could potentially arise should he reveal himself to them.

' _I… can't,'_ was his conclusion as he lowered his arm back down towards the arm controller of his _Gundam_. And, with a swift motion, he had his unit unfurl its fingers.

' _But I can't exactly keep you there…'_

* * *

Mina was horrified, and even then, it would be an understatement.

She was beyond horrified at that point. Petrified, paralyzed with fear, pale with horror… it was all present on her face as she stared at the cold, unblinking eyes of the _Mechanical Titan_. Unlike the average Titan, this… _thing_ was truly a terrifying sight to behold.

Behind the _Mechanical Titan_ , Nac, Mylius and Flex all stared at the thing, ready to spring into action should it try anything that would bring harm onto Mina. Flex, with at least a small amount of knowledge regarding the _Mechanical Titan_ , knew that it was at least a little sentient, capable of independent action and thought, and prior experience told her that it didn't exactly bother with killing humans, even at one point saving the lives of Hanji and Levi during the Fall of _Maria_ , a memory that told her to hang back and see what it would do instead of leaping in and attack on impulsive.

Unfortunately, Nac was not as patient as his commander. Just seeing his friend in possible danger was enough to make him step forward, his eyes locked onto the nape of the _Mechanical Titan_. A precise slash to those pipes located on its nape would perhaps be able to bring it down, he reasoned, and he was just about to launch himself forward, only for Flex herself to stop him.

"Don't do it, Tias," warned Flex, holding her junior back as she glared at him, a glare that was returned in full as Nac grimaced.

"But Mina's-" began Nac, pointing the tip of his Anti-Titan blade at the _Mechanical Titan_ , though he was cut off when Flex continued.

"Stay quiet and be patient," instructed Flex, her iron clad tone telling Nac that she wasn't going to repeat herself. And, not without some reluctance, Nac backed down, though right as he took a step back, all three of them heard the sound of several pistons shifting, prompting them to turn towards the _Mechanical Titan_ …

Only for both Mylius and Nac to widen their eyes when they saw that the 'Titan' in question had unfurled the fingers of its hand which Mina was sitting on. Mina herself didn't seem to notice as her attention was completely fixed onto the face of the _Mechanical Titan_ , and she didn't even react when said 'Titan' set her down onto the hard concrete ground of _Trost_ in a shockingly gentle manner.

With that done, the _Mechanical Titan_ simply kneeled in front of Mina, eyeing her passively as Nac, Mylius and Flex watched. The former two appeared shocked, though the latter appeared to have expected this.

"It… set her down…" muttered Mylius, stating the obvious as Flex smirked, staring at the back of the _Mechanical Titan_. "But…"

"The Titan that kills other Titans and spares humans, that was what we called it," replied Flex as she turned to regard her juniors. "I came face to face with it during the Fall of _Maria_ , and it was a lot of help. Many reports stated that it saved humans, not kill them."

"And it just so happened to save Mina," concluded Nac, now staring at the _Mechanical Titan_ with… respect? Possibly that. He didn't know how he felt towards this massive hunk of junk, but he supposed that, at the very least, it was not hostile towards them…

And the black haired boy nearly leapt out of his skin when steam suddenly erupted from various golden segments on the _Mechanical Titan's_ body. Mylius mirrored his action while Flex simply shielded her eyes, and once she lowered them, all she saw was steam.

Blinking in shock, the senior soldier found that she and her fellow soldiers were now blanketed by a massive cloud of steam. She attempted to disperse it, though it was too thick to do so. Behind her, she could vaguely hear Nac and Mylius coughing ever so slightly, though she quickly ignored it when she noticed two bright green 'lights' that were visible not too far from where they stood.

Opening her mouth, Flex attempted to mutter out a "What", though she was quickly interrupted when she heard something 'power up', so to speak. A handful of seconds later, seven blue orbs of light could be faintly seen in the cloud of steam…

And less than a second later, the blue orbs of light exploded, causing the steam around them to disperse as the _Mechanical Titan_ was propelled out of the cloud, headed in the direction of the breach. The kickback it produced caused Flex, Mylius and Nac to fall onto their backs, though they stood themselves back up within a few seconds, just in time to see the _Mechanical Titan_ ram into a Fifteen metre Titan that was roughly fifty metres away from them with a charging shoulder.

"Whoa…" was all Mylius could mutter out as the _Mechanical Titan_ engaged a pack of Titans. Flex and Nac both joined him in watching for a moment, though before long, Nac broke off from watching the battle and turned his attention towards the more pressing issue, at least in his mind.

"Mina…!" exclaimed Nac as he ran to the edge of the building. Peering down at the ground, Nac felt his heartbeat slow itself down when he saw, through the still clearing cloud of steam near the ground, that Mina was still down there. She appeared traumatised, sure, but she was alive… and that was all that mattered.

Without missing a beat, Nac swung down and sprinted towards his friend. As soon as he was close to her, he knelt down and gently seized her shoulders. With as little force as he could muster, Nac gently shook his friend, who still appeared to be in a fear ridden trance.

"Mina…!" began Nac, shaking his friend gently. He got no response, prompting him to repeat the action once more as he yelled for his friend. He still got no response, so he shook her more violently, and finally, after the tenth yell for his friend, she blinked.

Shaking her head, Mina squeezed her eyes shut as she snapped out of her trance. And as soon as she opened them, Carolina felt herself calm down as soon as she came face to face with none other than Nac himself.

"N-Nac…?" muttered Mina, her voice still shaky as she began to realize just how tense her body was at the moment. Even without the presence of the _Mechanical Titan_ , she still felt close to a panic attack. Thankfully for her, Nac always did have a knack for calming a person down even in the bleakest of situations, and now was no exception.

"It's me… don't worry," assured Nac as he patted his friend's back. He attempted a smile, though it was half successfully as he began to help his friend stand herself up, only to grimace when he noticed how shaky Mina's legs were. "Deep breaths, Mina. Inhale, exhale. Deep breathe… and release…"

Doing as Nac had instructed, Mina found herself calming down within a handful of seconds, though her heart rate was still through the roof. Even so, she was calm enough to take in the situation they were currently in, prompting her to turn up to their commander.

"I… I'm sorry for all that, Commander Flex," apologised Mina, though all she got from Flex was a simple "PSHHHHH."

"What just happened was entirely out of your control, Cadet Carolina!" exclaimed Flex as she knelt down atop the building she and Mylius were on. "But let's not dwell on that right now! We oughta-"

A nearby crash interrupted Flex and made her entire team turn towards the _Mechanical Titan_ and widen their eyes when they saw that it had chokeslammed a Ten metre Titan into a (hopefully) abandoned building.

"W-We should g-g-get out of here," said Mylius, effectively finishing Flex's sentence for her as he turned away from the _Mechanical Titan_. And that command was answered without hesitation as the entirety of Team Flex fled the area, leaving the _Mechanical Titan_ to mop up the eastern sector of _Trost_ on its own.

Mina did, however, spare the 'Titan' one last look before it disappeared from their field of view, silently wondering what had compelled it to save her…

* * *

With a strange knot in his stomach and a frown on his face, Mika felt his grip on _Barbatos'_ arm controllers tighten, in turn crushing the head of a Six metre Titan in its manipulator, as he watched his friends fall back.

Part of him was scolding himself for not revealing himself to his friends, but he swiftly silenced that voice. What was done was done, he couldn't go back in time to change it. All that was left to do now was to keep as many Titans as he could from getting past a hundred metres from the Breach.

Still… it didn't mean that he couldn't think about why he hadn't revealed himself back then as he did so…

 _The main question was why… it was the smartest move he could have done. During his time as a Tekkadan pilot, if he was not told otherwise by anyone he respected, namely Orga, Mika would have done the smartest thing in his mind. So why did he not do so just now?_

Raising the arm controller, Mika had _Barbatos_ lob the headless body of the Six metre Titan straight at an inbound Ten metre. On impact, the Six metre's entire body exploded into a messy rain of gore while the Ten metre's torso promptly disappeared.

Swiftly following up on that, Mika's Alaya Vijnana system warned him of an incoming threat behind _Barbatos_. Turning on a dime, the pilot reacted by launching his _Gundam's_ right left unit at the inbound Titan, a muscular Thirteen metre. Right before it hit the Titan, the grey segments beneath the unit's feet folded out and formed 'claws' of sorts, and as soon as the foot unit made contact with the Titan, specifically it's arm, the 'claws' grasped onto its forearm like a vice.

Not wasting any time, Mika had _Barbatos_ slam its leg unit down onto the ground, in turn slamming the Thirteen metre Titan down as well. Turning to his side, Mika noticed another Titan, a Five metre, charging at his unit, and in response, he swung _Barbatos'_ Titan-caught leg at it. At the last second, Mika disengaged _Barbatos'_ 'feet claws', in turn launching the Thirteen metre straight at the smaller Five metre.

On impact, the Five metre was promptly erased off the face of the world while the Thirteen metre was sent crashing into the side of a building, causing it to collapse. Shockingly, it was still alive, though that mistake was swiftly corrected after Mika had _Barbatos_ blast it through the neck with one of the few remaining Autocannon rounds.

 _Perhaps it had something to do with his time spent with Mina, Nac and Annie? Being with them seemed to have softened him up, so to speak. Their presence and company had perhaps taught him that even a child soldier as twisted as him was capable of allowing emotion to override logic._

Cracking his knuckles, Mika grumbled to himself. While he probably didn't notice it, the pilot was starting to get frustrated. Thus far, he had not used any one of _Barbatos'_ weapons on the Titans. The boy wished for a challenge, however dull it may be, in order to help distract him from his thoughts. But thus far, he was not getting one. The only real shock he's had so far was the incident with Mina, and that was about it.

Deciding that going easy on the Titans would not help anyone, Mika had _Barbatos_ reach for its back and not long after, his unit pulled the Wrench Mace off its back. Dented, busted up and broken as it may be, the weapon was still a force to be reckoned with. Gripping the former construction tool in his _Gundam's_ manipulators, Mika narrowed his eyes at a pack of three Titans and crouched his unit down low, with all seven boosters warming up as he did.

 _Unlike his three friends, Mika knew what betrayal felt like. He has experienced it countless times. He was sure that none of his three new friends had experienced it before. And he was certain that if he had revealed this information to them, they would most definitely feel betrayed._

Without any warning, Mika boosted _Barbatos_ straight at the pack of Titans. Right as he was about ten metres away from the first, a chubby Twelve metre, Augus shifted _Barbatos'_ center of gravity, causing the _Gundam_ to tilt itself to the side with its weapon extended out as a counterbalance. And almost immediately after, the _Gundam_ began spinning, though it was deliberate.

Mika had just turned his unit into a raging mechanical cyclone of death.

The first swing obliterated the Twelve metre's torso, and the second completely pulverised the Ten metre behind it. The final Titan, a pudgy Five metre, was a little far off, though Mika kept _Barbatos_ spinning until he was right in front of it.

By the time he had reached it, _Barbatos_ had spun around at least five times, and as soon as it was five metres away from the shorter Titan, Mika had his _Gundam_ slam its foot down into the ground. The sudden stop caused _Barbatos'_ built up momentum to pile on, and Mika used all that momentum to deliver an earth shattering downwards swing right onto the remaining Five metre. And it was safe to say that _nothing_ was left behind as soon as the Wrench Mace made contact with the Titan.

 _How would they react to him betraying them, so to speak, if he had revealed himself to be the pilot of_ Barbatos _? This was a question that Mika had only just thought about when he rescued Mina. By all means, he was the pilot of a 'Titan', so to speak. In turn, he would be no different from one himself. Would they see him as an enemy? Would they, by some miracle, ignore his 'betrayal' and accept him?_

 _Would they decide that he was no longer worthy of being called a friend?_

With an uncharacteristic look of frustration, Mika charged straight at a Fifteen metre and slammed _Barbatos'_ entire manipulator straight into its chest. The sharp digits of his unit made digging into its flesh easy, and Mika paid no attention to the squishing noises of the flesh as he forced _Barbatos'_ entire arm into the Titan's chest. After a second, _Barbatos'_ manipulator forced itself out of the Fifteen metre Titan's nape, killing it in a truly unconventional way.

 _Why was he even worried about this? Surely, being a 'friend' wasn't important, right? All that mattered was his survival…_

Ignoring the Wrench Mace, Mika had _Barbatos_ rip the Longsword off its back and, with a mighty swing, he cleaved a Titan from shoulder to hip. Its body collapsed onto the floor, though while the bottom half began dissolving, the top remained alive, though that issue was quickly rectified when Mika slammed his _Gundam's_ Longsword into its nape.

 _But if so… why was he thinking about this? His survival came first! Not some people he met along the way…_

Another Fourteen Titan attempted to tackle _Barbatos_ , though its efforts were in vain as the _Gundam_ grabbed it by its neck and hoisted it up into the air. Without missing a beat, the unit slammed the Fourteen metre down onto the building closest to it, and on impact, the entire building promptly collapsed, with the impact itself apparently having been strong enough to kill the Fourteen metre.

As soon as it was down, Mika turned _Barbatos_ over to its next victim, a Fifteen metre Titan that was muscular in stature. Staring at the Longsword in his unit's manipulator, Mika promptly tossed it aside and approached the Fifteen metre. And right as _Barbatos_ was in front of it, Mika had his unit launch a punch at it.

And another, and another, and another, and another.

Before long, the Fifteen metre was nothing more than a dissolving pile of flesh, but Mika ignored it as he kept _Barbatos_ going at it until his unit's fist struck the concrete floor.

And that was when he stopped.

Slowly, Mikazuki straightened _Barbatos_ out and surveyed the area around it.

There was nothing at this point. All the buildings around him were destroyed, every Titan within a hundred metre radius around him had been dealt with, and there were no Military Brigade members close by. The only ones that Mika could make out were the _Garrison_ members who were watching him from above the Walls. If only he could see their faces and how horrified they were at the sight.

This was nothing, however, and Mika knew it.

He had done worse in his life, having killed many even without the use of _Barbatos_. He was a child soldier at heart, and he could never be any different. Friendship was something he could never hope to achieve, and now that he was inside _Barbatos_ once more, the boy could come to terms with that.

However, right as the boy began thinking of such things, a gentle influx of data via his Alaya Vijnana system caught his attention. Blinking at that, Mika had expected _Barbatos_ to be warning him of an incoming Titan… though he was quickly corrected when he felt the data _tell_ him to do something, so to speak.

 _Look up._

And so he did, only to wince ever so slightly when something splashed onto _Barbatos'_ optics. Blinking at that, it took Mika a handful of seconds to realize that it was beginning to rain.

For a moment, Mika simply watched as the rain pelted down onto _Barbatos_ , washing the dissolving Titan blood off his chassis. The mere sound of rain hitting metal was calming… and it calmed Mika's mind ever so slightly as he allowed himself to just relax…

* * *

" _It's raining!"_

 _Blinking at that obvious statement, Mika looked up and raised an eyebrow at Nac and Mina as they stared out the window of their home, smirking immensely as they did._

" _You don't say," muttered Annie, rolling her eyes as she leaned back on the couch. Over with Mina and Nac, the former pouted while the latter retorted._

" _Gah, don't be such a party pooper, Annie!" proclaimed Nac, smirking as he turned his attention back to the rain. "Storms like that only come every so often! It's always nice to enjoy them!"_

" _I don't see why we should. Storms are an inconvenience. They make the ground wet," grumbled Annie._

" _But at the same time, the rain is beautiful," pointed out Mina. "And it helps plants grow! So it's good in my book!"_

" _That… and I find it oddly symbolic in a sort of way," said Nac, muttering halfway through as though he reconsidered speaking about the latter half. However, Mika took note of it and raised a brow, now curious as to what he meant by symbolic._

" _Symbolic?" echoed Mika, prompting Nac to leap up._

" _YOU HEARD ME?!" proclaimed the boy as the pilot nodded. It took Tias a second to realize that Mika was legitimately interested, so he answered._

" _Well, you see… raindrops all look weak and frail, just like us. Humans are, at our core, weak little droplets. However, as soon as they hit the ground, the droplets combine and form massive puddles of water, much like how humanity had banded together in an attempt to fight the Titans off."_

" _But the sun comes out and dries the puddles, so the Sun is a Titan, meaning we can't win this war," deadpanned Annie in an oddly smug tone. Nac's response was to wave his arms around frantically as Leonhardt attempted to hide a smirk._

" _THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!" proclaimed Nac as he swiftly shifted the topic. "B-But… conversely, we can look at it this way. Its symbolic of our family."_

" _Really?" muttered Mika, an eyebrow raised as he spoke._

" _Yep! We all come from mostly different places. Mina and Ms Carolina are both from_ Karanses _, I'm a_ Trost _local and both of you are from_ Shiganshina _. We're all just raindrops that just so happened to land in the same puddle as each other, and despite our differences, I for one could not be more grateful for the fact that we're together!"_

 _And as Mina told Nac off for how cheesy that was, Mika found that to be the first time where he really did feel genuine compassion for his three companions…_

* * *

… and as those memories came to an end, Mika closed his eyes and held a hand to his heart.

Ultimately, he was a child soldier. He never experienced true love or friendship. The closest he got was with Orga, but that relationship felt more like a master/student one than anything. Now, however, he was different. He worried about minute things such as how his old friends would react to him revealing himself as a pilot when he should be worrying about keeping them safe.

With that in mind, Mika casted all doubt in regards to how they would react to the information regarding him being a pilot and simply focused on the task at hand, keeping the Titans away.

And, with a gentle squeeze of the arm controllers, he went on to do just that.

"Let's go, _Barbatos_."

* * *

Rain had begun falling rather hard by the time Team Flex had stopped to catch their breath, prompting the four to swing down towards a building to catch their breath.

While Flex herself landed without much issue, her juniors ended up slipping on the wet roof of the building they had chosen to land on. Nac managed to just barely keep himself upright while both Mylius and Mina ended up slipping and landing on their rears. While Mina simply slipped on the ground, Mylius nearly slid off the roof, though thankfully Nac managed to stop him from becoming a red stain on the ground.

"I think we're far enough away," muttered Flex, turning towards the general direction of the _Mechanical Titan_ as she spoke. Beside her, Mina gave an uncertain nod as she walked up to her commander. Noticing this, Flex turned to her junior and placed a hand on her smaller shoulder. "You alright there, Carolina?"

"P-Peachy…" was the _Garrison's_ response from Mina as she rubbed her upper right arm, looking away from her senior. Flex knew that she wasn't being entirely truthful, but she dropped the topic in favor of allowing her juniors to unwind.

Before long, Mylius and Nac joined Mina and Flex. The _Garrison_ commander checked on the blonde Cadet, giving Nac some time to speak to Mina, who held out her left hand, allowing the rain to drop onto her palm.

"What a bad time for it to rain," muttered Nac as he ran his fingers through his wet hair. Mina nodded in response, prompting Nac to wince ever so slightly. "But still, its refreshing in a way, for _Trost_ to be as cool as it is right now…"

"I guess so," was Mina's response as she turned up to her taller friend. She attempted a mild smile, though it came out as more of a half smile as she clenched her left hand into a fist. "Hey, remember that weird droplet thing you told me, Annie and Mika back in the day?"

"That whole thing about us being droplets and all that?" inquired Nac, attempting to make the best out of the currently calm situation. "Yeah… weird memory, y'know? It was cheesy… why'd you bring it up though?"

"No particular reason. Just the rain reminded me of the whole thing," muttered Mina with a smile. Nac returned it, though his smile quickly faded a far off sound of a bell caught his attention. Perking his ears up, Nac turned towards its general direction and raised his brows at their Commander, who appeared similarly confused at first, though before long she nodded. "Commander?"

"It's a retreat signal," explained Flex, motioning for her juniors to get ready to move. Nac raised his brows at that while Mina tilted her head to her side, prompting Flex to explain further. "The residents of _Trost_ have been evacuated, so our presence is no longer needed. We can either stay here and be eaten… or fall back."

Mylius was immediately on board with the latter option, and both Mina and Nac were quick to follow up on that. With all three of her juniors on board with her plan, Flex gave a mild fistpump and motioned towards the _Trost_ District's Military base.

"We'll refuel and scale the Wall of _Rose_. Is anyone against that plan?"

And when no one spoke up to object it, Flex smirked and leapt off the edge of the building.

"Then let's get a move on!"

"YES MA'AM!"

* * *

 ***plays the drums***

 **So after a handful of redrafts and rewrites, I, Stryker A.J, have finally written TNK Remastered Chapter 14. That's me stating the obvious, but I frankly don't know how to start off the outro.**

 **Anyhow, before we delve into the important stuff, I may as well state the obvious again. My name is different. If you're wondering why, I simply thought that having 'Alexander' in my name would confuse people into thinking that it was my real name. The A in Stryker A.J doesn't mean anything, it's just there for cosmetic purposes. Frankly speaking, I would just go with 'Stryker J' as my username, but someone had already taken it, so I can't use it.**

 **On a rather ironic note, the earliest known person on this site to use the username 'Stryker J' published a story on May 2001 and was last updated on July 14th 2002, just three days after my birthday. That can't be a coincidence.**

 **Anyways, onto the more important stuff… I think.**

 **Firstly, a big, manly, non-homo hug to my proofreader, who helped me with this story a lot more than you would imagine He's a good man whom I love in a totally bro way.**

 **Aphem, this chapter is very noticeably shorter than the previous few. That's more because there's less interactions between characters and more combat.**

 **You probably also noticed how this chapter is more focused on Mika's inner conflict. If anything, this entire chapter is just to show how different he is now when compared to his past self. He's more emotional and thinks more independently, something that his past self wasn't really capable of.**

 **And in regards to the combat, I had a pretty fun time writing it. The original plan was for Barbatos to tear through hordes of Titans with the Wrench Mace, but that would've become dull after some time, so I took it upon myself to try and make the fights interesting… hopefully.**

 **The next handful of chapters will most likely be very similar to this one up till the end of the Trost arc. And as a spoiler, Mina, Nac, Mylius and Thomas survive the Trost arc.**

 **But then again, that's not really a spoiler**

* * *

 **ONTO THE REVIEWS.**

 **Quick cluster reply: I shall address this very quickly, but I wish to thank everyone who has wished me a happy birthday in the update chapter! It really makes a depressed, lazy, useless engineer in training like myself happy. I'll thank you guys individually down below.**

 **noobie53: I mean, that is a good reaction after you realize that you're sitting on the palm of a 'Titan' that was thought to be a myth. I kinda went with the 'stunned into silence' approach, just because it was a little easier to write… I really am a lazy cunt, eh?**

 **BrotherCaptainSheperd: mah boi, I never left. I was simply lagging behind**

 **CT7567Rules: aye, them Titans best watch out, for Gundam Barbatos has returned. And unfortunately, since I'm not exactly a good fight choreographer and sound implementer, I won't exactly be inserting any Gundam OSTs into the combat scenes. That doesn't mean you can't play some Raise Your Flag while reading tho. And thank you for the happy birthday! May your life be filled with fortune.**

 **BushidoWookie: don't worry, all stories shall be continued. And thank you for the happy birthday, and make sure you keep Han Solo out of trouble.**

 **Guest: thanks for the praise! I'm glad you're enjoying this clusterfuck of a story, and I'll try and keep the quality of this story at least average.**

 **mithhat: much obliged. I hope you have a good day as well**

 **Dracus6: please, Dracus, spare me! I already have three more story ideas in mind… adding another onto the pile helps no one!**

 **Red Sazabert: ah shucks, thanks for the compliments my dude. The answer to your question is a resounding** _ **maybe**_ **, as it would lead to a spoiler for a very late chapter. And in regards to the 1/100 Barbatos, I have to say, I'm at least a little flattered that you actually tried to get a Barbatos F6 just because of me (though between you and me, I suggest you wait for the Master Grade that's coming out in November). And finally, thank you for that happy birthday, and here's hoping for you to find that 1/100 Barbatos Form 6!**

 **Setsuna Rizky: y'know, your review warms my heart for reasons unknown. Just that first paragraph makes me smile. As a 'writer', I have a knack for writing daily. Of course, thanks to college, I'm usually very tired and can't write properly, often leading to stress. So hearing someone other than my proofreader tell me that I can take my time with updates feels pretty nice.**

 **And thanks for the complement in regards to my Iron Blooded Orphan fics! I love the series, and do my best to write about it.**

 **In regards to my social media, it's all in my profile. Why you'd wanna add me is beyond my comprehension, but hey, I'm always there for a friend. Unfortunately, I do not have Instagram. And yes, Master Grade Barbatos is official. REJOICE ONCE MORE.**

 **And finally…** _ **MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA**_

* * *

 **That was a lot of reviews, eh? Frankly, it flatters to know that people read all my garbage stories and think that they're good enough to leave a review on. I genuinely do not believe that I deserve as much clout as I currently do, but I can't really complain. It's been fun, writing all these stories.**

 **And in regards to the three stories I have in mind, have you guys ever heard of** _ **Nier Automata**_ **,** _ **Pacific Rim**_ **,** _ **Darling in the Franxx**_ **and** _ **Fate Grand Order**_ **?**

 **I'll leave you with that. See you guys next time!**


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